The Olympics drive the whole people! A fire in winter - ice and snow sports enthusiasm burned all over the land of China

Beijing, 1 Feb (Xinhua) -- The New Year of the Tiger has arrived, the Beijing Winter Olympics are about to open, and the Chinese ushered in an auspicious year of "joy and happiness" and an Olympic year.

A Spring Festival Gala song from many years ago once sang "You are like that fire, the flame burns me". Today, the Beijing Winter Olympics are like a flame, igniting the enthusiasm of Chinese to participate in ice and snow sports, igniting the engine of rapid development of the ice and snow economy, and adding a strong impetus to the goal of achieving a sports power.

From the northeast where ice cream is sold in winter without refrigerators, to Hainan, where snowflakes are hard to see, from Shanghai, the city that never sleeps on the banks of the Huangpu River, to the ancient village of Hemu at the foot of the Altai Mountains in Xinjiang, ice and snow sports enthusiasts can be seen everywhere. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, as of October 2021, the number of participants in Ice and Snow Sports in China reached 346 million, "driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports", and the commitments made by China in the process of bidding for the Winter Olympics have been fulfilled.

On the winter night of The Vanke Songhua Lake Ski Resort in Jilin City is brightly lit, and the snow friend Zhang Tian slides down the snow slope at high speed, and from time to time a steering action is made to raise a piece of snowflakes. "Skiing is great for stress relief and has been an essential part of my life, I come to skate three or four times a week." She said.

Nine years ago, 5-year-old girl Zhang Baking boarded the ice rink with the encouragement of her mother, which was the first commercial artificial ice rink in Nanning. After years of practice, she now dances on the ice with a flexible posture and elegant manners, and is already a high-ranking figure skater. Zhang Baking said: "My dream is to win the national or even world-class figure skating championship. ”

By contrast, Zhu Shujun, 71, is a newcomer to the ice rink, having only started practicing speed skating a year ago. He lives in Tangshan City, where he retires, and almost every day he has to go to the ice rink not far from home to skate a few laps, and he has also met many friends who also love ice and snow sports. "Now is the era of the whole people on the ice and snow, we the elderly can not be absent."

"Not only the north, not only winter, not only young people," wrote in the "Top Ten Life Trends in 2022" released by the life app Xiaohongshu. The heat of ice and snow sports has exceeded the limits of space, season and age, and has gradually become a popular sport. At the same time, the vitality and potential of the ice and snow economy are also continuing to be released.

"I didn't expect a city to have 12 ski resorts!" New Zealand tourist White sighed. The last time he skied in Jilin City was in 2008, and the traffic along the way was bumpy, the only one snow resort with rudimentary facilities, limited accommodation and meal options nearby, and now star hotels, specialty homestays and a variety of food are all around the snow park.

There is a saying among domestic ski enthusiasts that the ski life without skiing on Avon Avenue is incomplete. This steep and difficult slope is located at the Xinjiang Silk Road International Ski Resort, and Talihati Shantayi is the leader of the alpine ski rescue team on this slope. Born into a family of herders, he lived with his father and father in the pastures between the Tianshan Mountains and valleys, driving cattle and sheep and chasing water and grass. 16 years ago, he came to the snow field not far from home to work, and worked hard to learn professional skills to become the leader of the ambulance team and guard the safety of his snow friends.

In Tarihati Shantay's hometown, many herders have turned into ski instructors and snow rescuers. In addition to driving employment, the snow sports boom has also driven the rapid development of local catering, accommodation and ski training industries. Not long ago, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the State General Administration of Sport announced the first list of 12 state-level ski tourism resorts, and Nanshan in Urumqi, Xinjiang is among them.

Even in the warm Gangnam, professional ice rinks are not uncommon. Li Ning is a youth figure skating coach at the Ningbo Global Yintai Ice Rink, a former professional athlete who has been favored by his parents for his professional ability. After retiring from the army, he spent 11 years in Shanghai and witnessed the historical process of ice and snow sports in the south from "cold" to "hot". "After the successful bid for the Beijing Winter Olympics, more and more people in the south are participating in ice and snow sports, and the demand for professional coaches is also increasing." He said.

For Li Ning, who has been accompanied by ice and snow sports all his life, the blue ocean market of ice and snow sports youth training is gratifying, but the changes brought by ice and snow sports to children make him feel happier. Thanks to his words and deeds, Huang Shuohan, an 11-year-old girl with an ice age of 6 years, has been able to easily complete 5 types of two-week jumps. "If children like it and parents support it, China's ice and snow sports will have a future."

The future can be expected! The impetus and vitality injected into Chinese society by the Beijing Winter Olympics is particularly evident among young people. Soon to become the "City of The Double Olympics", Beijing has made great efforts in popularizing youth ice and snow sports, and the number of participants in the Winter Games for primary and secondary school students has increased steadily for 6 consecutive years, and the competition projects have also developed from the initial ice puzzles, snow climbing and other fun projects to short track speed skating, ice hockey, snowboarding and other more professional projects, the city has a total of 200 ice and snow sports characteristic schools, 16 districts and counties have youth winter sports teams.

In the Altay region of Xinjiang, known as the "origin of human skiing," primary and secondary school students simply moved into the ski resort for their winter physical education classes. From learning about traditions such as fur skis, to experiencing snowboarding, to advanced courses such as alpine descent and cross-country skiing, local primary and secondary schools set up special courses according to the different ages of students, so that every child can embrace ice and snow sports.

In addition to vigorous promotion and popularization in various places, the younger generation of Chinese Winter Olympic athletes are also encouraging young people to participate in ice and snow sports. Gu Ailing, Ning Zhongyan, Su Yiming and other cutting-edge young players have repeatedly achieved good results in the international arena and planted the seeds of ice and snow sports in the hearts of more teenagers.

Chen Xingxing, the mother of figure skating teenager Huang Shuohan, said: "Thousands of falls, frustration, chagrin and anxiety can be exchanged for a full week of falling ice." I couldn't bear it a thousand times off the field, and I endured it a thousand times, so that she could understand the meaning of persistence. ”

Taking the Winter Olympics as an opportunity, a winter flame has been lit up in the north and south of the great river, and the blueprint belonging to China's ice and snow sports has been unfolded in front of the world.

Editors: Liu Ning, Yu Sihui, Ji Jiadong