"China has invented a lot of things, and it says skiing is one of them. The Us "Wall Street Journal" on the 15th with this as the title of a report again angered China's yin and yang, the article tried to question the "Xinjiang is the origin of skiing" statement, but can not come up with conclusive rebuttal evidence, its claim that "the origin of skiing can usually be traced back to Northern Europe" can only be vague. While hyping up this topic, the article once again quoted the platitudes of the United States and the West to slander China's Xinjiang policy, trying to stir up contradictions and smear China, which may be the real reason why the newspaper cares about the origin of skiing.
The Wall Street Journal article begins with a sinister yin and yang atmosphere: "Compass, gunpowder, paper and ... skiing? China is using the Winter Olympics to further show that skiing originated in China 10,000 years ago and touted Xinjiang as the birthplace and future of the sport. The article then puts a hat in Western parlance: "Xinjiang is part of China and is often synonymous with political conflict." ”
Not surprisingly, Xinjiang has become the "point of interest" of the US media's prejudice against China.
In 2006, a number of senior experts and scholars at home and abroad jointly issued the "Altay Declaration", declaring Thataltai in Xinjiang, China is the "Origin of Human Skiing", and designating January 16 of each year as the "Anniversary of the Origin of Human Skiing". The Global Times special reporter recently went to Xinjiang to report that the Altay region in northern Xinjiang can be called the "origin of human skiing", and the rock paintings excavated here 12,000 years ago vividly record the earliest image of human skiing. This name is by no means a self-proclaimed name. In the Khandgat Mongol Township, about an hour's drive from downtown Altay, reporters saw painted petroglyphs in the Dundebulak Cave. A row of small people on the rock wall is clearly visible, and their feet on fur skis, holding poles, bending over and bending their knees, carrying their prey in the wind and snow, are in the same posture as modern skiing. Relevant studies at home and abroad show that the date of this petroglyph is 12,000 years or even earlier.
The Wall Street Journal, however, argued that "so far, only archaeologists at Chinese research institutions have concluded that these hieroglyphs are 10,000 years old based on observations of other rock art." "Archaeologists outside of China believe that skiing has a long history in Xinjiang, but there is no evidence that it originated there."
"The origins of skiing can often be traced back to Northern Europe." The Wall Street Journal also gives its own narrative that clearer descriptions of skiers with skiers appear in rock paintings — rock carvings — about 5,000 years ago, near the Russian village of Zarawuga, in the eastern part of today's Finnish border; in the Norwegian town of Arta, local residents say they were born on skis, and more recently, rock carvings depict skiers hunting. "According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest skis found to date are preserved in a peat swamp in Sweden, dating back to 2500 BC." The report said.
However, the report also mentioned that a team of archaeologists from Griffith University in Australia and Hebei Normal University in China conducted a study of rock art sites in Xinjiang in 2015, and "the debate about the origin of skiing cannot be resolved." It is likely that 5,000 years ago, skiing spread rapidly in one region, including northern Scandinavia, Russia, northern Xinjiang and Mongolia. Another possibility, the team believes, is that skiing appeared independently in different areas during the same period.
It is worth mentioning that although China's claims are questioned, the Wall Street Journal is unable to produce tangible evidence on the "origin of skiing". However, in its report, it has spent a lot of time quoting the West's slanderous words about smearing Xinjiang, repeatedly mentioning the so-called "genocide" and other issues, and the sources and so-called "evidence" he cited are also the frequent and groundless attacks on China on the Xinjiang issue, the US State Department and so-called "human rights organizations", especially the anti-China "vanguard" in academic clothing, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).
It seems that the Wall Street Journal is not really so concerned about where skiing originated, but "cares" about China's Xinjiang – trying to smear and contain China by continuing to hype up related topics and maintain the "heat" of the Xinjiang issue among Western anti-China forces.
Some US and Western media seem to want to deliberately provoke trouble as soon as they see the content related to "Xinjiang.". At the main torch lighting ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 4, young Xinjiang athlete Diniger Yilamujiang appeared, and many Western media paid special attention to it. For example, the veteran American media "The New York Times" played a word game on this - it published an article about the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which shows from the title how arrogant and malicious it is - "In a provocative choice, China let an athlete with a Uighur name light a holy flame", but the report quickly overturned, and some netizens said: "No matter what China does, the New York Times is ready to publish their articles." ”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian recently refuted the malicious remarks, saying that the so-called "genocide in Xinjiang" is purely a lie of the century, and the above remarks of individual US politicians are tantamount to opening their eyes and saying nonsense. The Beijing Winter Olympics are underway, and political speculation similar to the use of the Winter Olympics to maliciously slander and smear will not win the hearts of the people, let alone succeed. Such acts are bound to be condemned and opposed by the international community, including athletes from all countries.
Previously reported
Do you know? Xinjiang Altay, which was successively "called" by Zhao Lijian, is the origin of human skiing!
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian recently "called" for Xinjiang Altay on his personal Weibo to help ice and snow sports, and at the same time brought the hashtag #I am in Xinjiang for the Winter Olympics. On the 18th, the Global Times reporter arrived at altay, the origin of human skiing, and walked into the General Mountain Ski Resort, feeling why Altay skiing makes people so "up", and also witnessing the enthusiasm of the general public to welcome the Beijing Winter Olympics in Xinjiang.
On the 17th, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian forwarded on his personal Weibo the 16th "Commemoration Day of the Origin of Human Skiing" held by the General Mountain International Ski Resort, saying that "Altay let us experience the Xinjiang Winter Olympics will make the world enter China", and brought the hashtag #I am in Xinjiang to welcome the Winter Olympics#, which attracted the attention of many netizens.
This is not the first time that Zhao Lijian has "Amway" Altay. On the 15th, Zhao Lijian forwarded a picture of Xueyou skiing in the Altay General Mountain Yunhai, with the caption saying "Stratus clouds, skiing Altay", and was "sealed" by netizens as "Xinjiang Foreign Propaganda Committee".
The Altay region in northern Xinjiang is actually the "birthplace of human skiing," as exemplified by the painted petroglyphs of dundebulak caves about an hour's drive from the city. On this 12,000-year-old petroglyph, the ancients stepped on fur skis, held ski poles, carried their prey, and skied forward in the same way as modern skiing. ”
"Guardian" Zhang Yongjun, who has been responsible for the interpretation of Dundeblak rock paintings for many years, told the Global Times reporter that the skiing pattern recorded here is more than 4,000 years earlier than the West, and it is difficult to be surpassed, and it is a veritable "origin of human skiing". Before the epidemic, experts and scholars from Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea came to investigate and agreed that Altay is the "origin of human skiing".
Built in 2009 and only 1,600 meters from the city center, Altay General Mountain Ski Resort is the only alpine ski resort in the country connected to the city and the only snow field in Xinjiang with two ski trails certified by the International Snow Federation. Compared with the ordinary ski resort, the ticket price of several hundred yuan is often larger, and the all-day ticket price of the weekday day field here is only 160 yuan, and the price is quite "touching". Moreover, when staying in partner units such as altay jindu hotel, you can also receive free snow tickets and take the shuttle bus from the hotel to and from the ski area, which truly realizes the linkage development of the industry.
Xinjiang's first winter champion, Yelzati, a native of Altay, said in an interview with the Global Times that skiing in Altay has three natural advantages: First, it has an ultra-long snow season from November to May every year; Second, the snow quality is excellent and the snow is sufficient; Third, the wind is small and almost windy. Yerzati further explained that skiing in the wind can be very cold and affect the skiing experience.
For Yelzati's analysis, the Global Times reporter felt more and more deeply after the on-site experience of the General Mountain Ski Resort. The snow quality and snowfall here are no less than in ski resorts such as Hokkaido and Nagano, and there is no wind, so even if you don't wear face protection equipment for wind protection, you won't feel cold, so the whole experience is very good.
According to the on-site observation of the Global Times reporter, there are not a few snow friends like Zhao Lijian who are "on the top" of Altay skiing. At the Golden Hotel, where the Global Times reporter stayed, it was full of snow lovers from all over the country who came to ski. In order to cope with the "hot" snow season, the hotel attendant must first clean the room that has been returned, so that new guests can check in first, so that they can have time to clean the room of the guests.
The ski boom in Altay is more intuitively reflected in the General Mountain Ski Resort, where snow lovers from all over the country gather. A snow friend from Changsha told the Global Times reporter, "There are friends who have come before, the experience is very good, this time they made an appointment to come together." She also said that with the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as an opportunity, she is also deeply in love with snow sports, which is a great feeling!
Zhang from Guangzhou, who was watching skiing instruction videos on her mobile phone when interviewed by the Global Times reporter, said that in recent years, a wave of ice and snow has been set off among young people, and it feels "cool" to learn to ski, and they want to improve their skills on the one hand, and they also want to go to other places in Xinjiang to play.
Peng Zhongyi, a ski instructor at The General Mountain Ski Resort, is a local, and he told the Global Times that before the epidemic, it attracted many foreign snow friends here, from Germany, Austria, Canada, Japan, South Korea and other parts of the world. After the epidemic, it is mainly domestic tourists, most of whom come from Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan and other places, as well as tourists from Beijing, Shanghai and other places.
It is worth mentioning that the equipment of the General Mountain Ski Resort is very advanced, and the locker can be scanned by WeChat and self-service switch. The Global Times reporter accidentally forgot the location of the locker and could retrieve it on the mobile phone.
There is also a bit of "cold humor" at the General Mountain Ski Resort. When the Global Times reporter asked the staff whether there was a wireless network, the other party replied "please wear a mask", and when the reporter obediently put on the mask and asked again, the other party replied "The wireless network is called please wear a mask". At present, there are staff members in the snow field who have repeatedly reminded snow friends to "please wear masks".