Wonderful Winter Olympics Winter Olympics whispers| Li Chunlei: Crystal world, swallow flying

Li Chunlei, born in 1968, is a native of Cheng'an County, Hebei Province. He is currently a member of the Plenary Committee of the China Writers Association, the vice chairman of the Hebei Writers Association, and the vice president of the China Reportage Literature Society. He is the author of the essay collection "That Year, I Was Eighteen Years Old", the long-form reportage "This Is How Steel Is Made", "Baoshan", "Chi'an", "Iron Wall and Copper Wall", "Shaking a Wheelchair on Peking University", etc.; short reportage "Kapok Kai", "Overnight Stay in Shed Flower Village", "Friend - Chronicle of Xi Jinping's Interaction with Jia Dashan" and so on. He has twice won the Lu Xun Literature Award, and won the National "Five One Project" Award, Xu Chi Reportage Award and other awards.

Around 1988, I studied in the writers' class of Hebei University. In the class, there was a xi surnamed xue brother who was more than ten years older than me, from the chongli countryside of Zhangjiakou in the northwest of Hebei Province, who often talked about the scene of his hometown: the depths of the Yanshan Mountains, the poverty, and many people lived in cave dwellings; the winter was extremely cold, and it was minus forty degrees Celsius.

My hometown is in the southernmost part of Hebei Province, and although it is also poor, no one lives in cave dwellings; although it is also cold, it is only minus eight or nine degrees Celsius. I, however, can hardly imagine human life in such poverty and cold.

Listening to him, I was most impressed by the ice and snow. Outsiders are cautious and creepy in the face of ice and snow, and the people there, each with an ice car and two ice picks, fly up and down the ice and snow, much faster than walking.

Although the days are cold and poor, they also have unique happiness.

The white colt crossed the gap and shook for more than thirty years.

During this time, due to the long distance and remoteness, I never went to Chongli. Although I have not yet arrived, I often hear about it and know that it is a well-known poor area in the country, but at the same time I have heard that it focuses on the development of the ice and snow industry. As a result, my mind often comes up with the crystal world in the depths of Yanshan Mountain: the mountains are black and thin, the ice and snow are white and fat, and people glide lightly, like a dream.

I really did not expect that this cold and lonely land was quietly fermenting and gradually becoming one of the centers of ice and snow sports in the world. Even the venues of the 24th Winter Olympics are located here.

In the blink of an eye, Chongli has become the focus of the world.

In mid-January 2022, before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, I finally walked into Chongli, deep in Yanshan.

The mountains here are not high or low, and the mounds are fat and mounds, as if the heavens were specially designed for a certain industry. Indeed, this place is located in the transition zone from the Inner Mongolian Plateau to the North China Plain, and it is also the intersection of the Yinshan Remnant and the Yanshan Mountains, and the mountain is tall but gentle and round, which is particularly suitable for ice and snow sports.

The weather, in particular, enters the snow season every October until April and May of the following year. Li Bai's famous sentence "The snowflakes of Yanshan Mountain are as big as a seat, and the pieces blow down the Xuanyuan Platform", that is, describing the bitter cold of this place. Since ancient times, in order to survive, live and produce, native people have developed the most primitive ice and snow sports represented by ice cars and ice picks, which greatly saves foot strength and physical strength.

Nature has reduced the friction of the poor by half.

As a result, people string relatives, meet friends, go to school, hunt, and go on blind dates, all waving ice picks and driving ice carts.

If there is no modern society, if it is not on the verge of the capital Beijing, ice cars and ice picks may still be the protagonists of this ice and snow land.

Indeed, the modern ice and snow sports here benefit from the prosperity of the people, but also thanks to the capital Beijing. In recent years, people's economic income has been rich, the pace of life has accelerated, and the spiritual pursuit has been diversified, so they have set their sights on this mountainous snowfield located in the west of Beijing. Around the 1990s, Chongli had a modern ski resort.

Ice and snow sports are really an important part of modern sports. Think about it, human beings have developed a variety of sports using flat land, deserts and waters to strengthen the body and temper the will. Ice and snow areas are an indispensable part of human survival and life, and ice and snow sports are a wonderful world of endless fun and rising.

Stylish skis and poles made of high-tech metal, plastic and wood. The "grandfather" of the skis is the original ice car; the ski pole is an upgraded version of the ice pick.

True skiers love speed, passion, beauty and the sense of accomplishment of conquering nature.

Yes, when you stand on the top of the snow-capped mountain, the snow blurs the line of sight, and the scenery in the distance is like an elegant oil painting. You wear brightly colored ski suits, wear trendy ski goggles, pedal your skis, dance your poles, and slide down from high, the cold wind whizzing outside your ears, and the snow plowing under your feet. The body is flying on the snowfield, the mood is also flying between the heavens and the earth, forgetting the troubles, forgetting the fatigue, forgetting the time...

At this time, the reckless snowfield away from the hustle and bustle of the city is the melodious dance ground where you let go of your life!

That kind of flying is the release of the body, and it is also the high spirit.

Today, Chongli has built seven ski resorts. In the mountains of Chongli, where there are cave dwellings and earthen houses, there are modern and exquisite buildings everywhere.

I also finally met Brother Xi Xue. He was formerly the chairman of the local writers' association and is now retired. He told me that every winter, ski enthusiasts from all over the country come here like swallows in the spring, stay for a few months, and enjoy the joy of the hot "snow" boiling. Although he is old, he is also learning to ski with his children and grandchildren. As he spoke, he smiled, and his laughter shone as bright as ice and snow.

Following his rambling laughter, I looked at the endless Yanshan Mountain.

Thousands of mountains, covered in thick snow, white and fat, like white rabbits, flocks of sheep, camels, lying still, smiling.

I suddenly thought, why is this mountain range in northern China named Yanshan?

The word "Swallow" was first found in the Shang Dynasty oracle bones, hieroglyphs, shaped Xiao swallows. In ancient times, swallows were the messengers of spring and auspicious birds. In Old Chinese, "Yan" is synonymous with "匽" and "feast", which is a symbol of peace and happiness, such as newlywed Yan'er, Yan Yan Yugui, Yan Le, and so on. It can be seen that the word "Yan" contains the beautiful dreams of the ancestors.

Yes, if the Yanshan Mountains in the past were full of poverty, even if the mountain people had a primitive interest in ice and snow, they were mostly helplessly miserable. So now, the entire Yanshan area has become rich and beautiful.

In the past, it was as heavy as a mountain, but now it is as light as a swallow. Yanshan, this black and snow-white spirit, together with Taihang Mountain, Dabie Mountain, Jinggang Mountain, etc., is just like a group of swift swallows, lightening up and flying.

This flock of swallows is spring swallow, purple swallow, and petrel. They carry the branch of peace, carry the navigator, fly in the new era, fly to the Chinese dream...