On the morning of February 5, the ancient city of Lhasa was already white — the first snow after the spring came, and the snowflakes were still falling. The citizens of Lhasa have walked out of their homes and enjoyed themselves in the snow.
"Mom, hurry up." 5-year-old Jiang Tso squatted on the ground, with the help of a rope belt pulled forward by his mother Ren Zengwangmo, from time to time to make happy laughter, while the family on the side was busy recording videos and sending circles of friends. "I hope that the ski resort in Nyingchi will be completed and operated as soon as possible, and then I can take my son to experience a real skiing." Renzeng Wangmo said.
Although the ice and snow sports in Tibet started late, there is still no professional ski resort, but due to the unique geographical environment, the Tibetan people have a natural sense of closeness to the ice and snow, riding on the east wind of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Tibet's ice and snow economy is ready to develop.
Snow sports are heating up year by year
At 4 p.m. on February 8, Lhasa citizen Tashi Dunzhu opened his mobile phone APP and waited to watch the live broadcast of the men's individual sprint (free technology) qualification match of the Beijing Winter Olympics. "This game cannot be missed, it is the 'debut' of our Tibetan athletes at the Winter Olympics." Tashi Dunzhu said.
The athlete in Tashi Dunzhu's mouth is 18-year-old Tibetan ice and snow athlete Tsering Zhandui. In recent years, with the vigorous promotion and development of ice and snow sports in Tibet, more and more people have begun to understand and fall in love with ice and snow sports, and many Tibetan athletes have begun to emerge in ice and snow sports. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, athletes from the Tibet Autonomous Region, Including Tsing Ram and Tsering Zhandui, qualified for the Beijing Winter Olympics, for the first time in history.
Nyima Tsering, director of the Sports Bureau of the Tibet Autonomous Region, said that in recent years, Tibet has actively implemented the strategy of "expanding from the south to the west and expanding eastward" of ice and snow sports, based on reality, starting from scratch, innovating and developing winter sports, and achieving initial results. Since the establishment of the Tibet Ski Team in 2016, cross-country skiing and skiing have achieved remarkable results in international and domestic competitions, and a number of outstanding young athletes have emerged, and 10 athletes have been selected for the national team.
It is understood that Tibet is also based on unique geographical and climatic conditions, with the help of sports to aid Tibet advantages, strengthen ice and snow sports exchanges and cooperation, with cross-country skiing, skiing and mountaineering as key projects, select outstanding sports seedlings to Jilin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia and other strong provinces (regions) for ice and snow sports training, and actively cultivate the 2024 South Korea Gangwon Province Winter Youth Olympics and the 2026 Italian Winter Olympics preparation echelon, and continuously promote the development of sports with plateau characteristics.
"The development of ice and snow sports in Tibet has a bright future, great promise, and a promising future." Nyima Tsering said that in the future, Tibet will increase investment, innovate ideas and measures, focus on the development of snow sports, and focus on cultivating new advantages in competitive sports. "I hope that The Tibetan ice and snow athletes can achieve the goal of representing the country on the Olympic podium at an early date, and win glory for the motherland and add color to Tibet."
Ice and snow activities are becoming more and more abundant
"Nowadays, ice and snow sports have been popularized to a certain extent in Tibet, and have received universal attention and participation, and we are also actively relying on Tibet's unique mountain outdoor sports resources and talent advantages to vigorously develop mountaineering and mountain outdoor sports industry, and promote ice and snow sports into ordinary people's homes." Tsering Danda, head of the training section of the Mountaineering Team of the Tibet Autonomous Region, said.
On October 28, 2021, the activities of ice and snow sports into government agencies, enterprises and institutions were launched in Luodui Peak, Yangbajing Town, Dangxiong County, Lhasa City, Tibet. Duoji, who participated in this activity, felt very deeply and said that he fell in love with ice and snow sports: "Participating in the Luodui Peak Ice and Snow Experience Activity was an unforgettable experience for me, the body felt very tired, but the mood was very happy after challenging myself to win. Tibet is rich in ice and snow resources, and I will participate more in ice and snow sports in the future. ”
Since 2019, the public ice and snow sports of Luodui Peak have become a fixed event of the mountaineering conference every year. "We hope that by carrying out the activity of climbing Luodui Peak, more people can participate in ice and snow sports and fall in love with ice and snow sports." According to Tsering Danda, the 6,010-meter-high Luodui Peak has a gentle snow surface, less ice rock slopes, low climbing difficulties, and vehicles can go directly to the snow line at an altitude of 5,300 meters, which has become one of the ice and snow experience destinations for many outdoor enthusiasts.
On December 30, 2021, Tibet also held a Winter Olympic Ice Experience Activity at the National Nyingchi Sports Training Base in Tibet, with a series of experience projects such as curling and skating, which attracted many citizens and students to participate. Vientiane Lausanne, 11, experienced curling at the event site. "I've only seen it on TV before, curling used to be so fun, and my mom said she would take me on more ice and snow sports when she had the chance." Lobsang Vientiane said excitedly.
At present, the first ski resort in Tibet is under construction, and the site is located in Nyingchi City. "This will become an ideal place for more citizens, especially young people, to experience participating in ice and snow sports, and help ice and snow sports 'enter the homes of ordinary people."" Wu Fubin, director of the Sports Industry Management Center of the Nyingchi Municipal Education Bureau, said.
The popularity of ice and snow tourism is rising
With the holding of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, ice and snow tourism has embarked on a road of rapid development. Tibet, which has many ice and snow tourism resources such as snow mountains and glaciers, has become a "punch card" place for ice and snow tourism in the hearts of tourists.
At the 2022 China Ice and Snow Tourism Development Forum, the China Tourism Research Institute released the "China Ice and Snow Tourism Development Report 2022", and the "Snowy Plateau Tibetan Medicine Hot Spring" in Yangbajing, Tibet was selected as the 2022 Ice and Snow Classic Innovation Project, and the "Midui Glacier Adventure" was selected as the 2022 Ice and Snow Fashion Innovation Project.
Si Ying, a tourist from Guangdong, has always longed for the world of ice and snow. "What attracts me most to Tibet is the countless snow-capped mountains and glaciers. This trip went to see the Kouqiong Gangri Glacier and climbed the Luodui Peak, which made me, a southerner, have enough ice and snow addiction! Si Ying said.
Turning "cold resources" into "hot economy", ice and snow are also "golden mountains and silver mountains". Relying on the advantages of resources, Dangxiong County, Lhasa City, where the Kouqiong Gangri Glacier and Luodui Peak are located, has upgraded the comprehensive service of scenic tourism culture through protective development, is committed to the development of ice and snow tourism, and has specially trained a group of local young alpine guides.
As a beneficiary of the development of ice and snow tourism, Jianshan Dolma said that participating in the climbing service work has made her earn more income and a broader vision. Ice tourism changed her and changed her hometown. "My ancestors have worked and lived under the snowy mountains for generations, and they never thought that the cold snowy mountains would bring us a rich income." We will take more care of the ice and snow resources in our hometown, and we hope that more tourists will come to Tibet to see glaciers, climb snowy mountains, and experience the joy of ice and snow sports. Jiansan Dolma said.
Edit: Bao Kuo
Source: Economic Daily