Beijing, February 20 (Xinhua) -- If sports are strong, China is strong, and national sports are prosperous. Taking the opportunity of preparing for the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, the booming Chinese sports industry has stepped onto a new level.
From the inspiring "Three Olympic Questions" a hundred years ago to now Beijing has become the world's first double Olympic city, sports carry the dream of national prosperity and national rejuvenation, and have also become a landmark cause and footnote of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
On the evening of February 4, the opening ceremony of the 24th Winter Olympic Games in Beijing was held at the National Stadium. Photo by China News Service reporter Li Jun
Looking back at the centuries, in the collision of the changes of the times, the figure of sports has never been absent.
In 1908, when Chinese intellectuals and young students put forward the thought-provoking "Three Questions of the Olympic Games" in tianjin youth magazine, China was in an era of poverty and weakness, and the people were not happy.
"When will China be able to send athletes to the Olympics?" When will our athletes get an Olympic gold medal? When will our country be able to host the Olympics? "
Taking the Olympic Movement as the sustenance, the Chinese people have revealed their sincere expectations for the prosperity of the country and the strength of the people.
Liu Changchun. Xinhua News Agency Image source: Xinhua Net
24 years later, Liu Changchun, who "went to the meeting with a single knife", finally boarded the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games after 3 weeks of sea drift.
"My conscience is still there, and my blood is still flowing for the country, so how can I forget the motherland and act as a cow and horse for the puppet puppet country?" Liu Changchun, who refused to represent "puppet Manchukuo," answered the first question of the "Three Questions of the Olympic Games."
In that era when mountains and rivers were broken, on behalf of 40,000 people, he shouted out a strong determination not to be a slave to the country.
Luo Zhihuan, China's first speed skating world champion, was at the Beijing Winter Olympics torch relay. Photo by Li Chun, a reporter from China News Service
Liu Changchun planted a passionate seed. Since then, it has begun to take root and sprout.
From the first world record of weightlifter Chen Jingkai, to the first world championship of table tennis player Rong Guotuan, to the first time speed skater Luo Zhihuan reached the world's highest podium in winter sports...
Time flies, and that seed gradually grows into a towering tree, witnessing the great changes in China.
The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was China's first full participation in the Summer Olympics. The Chinese team won a total of 15 gold medals and 32 medals, and on the first day after the opening, Xu Haifeng won the first gold medal in the men's pistol slow-fire competition, achieving the "breakthrough of zero" for yanhuang descendants in the Olympic games.
With the spring breeze of reform and opening up, the Chinese sports delegation returned to the Olympic arena after many years. Lake Placid in 1980 witnessed the debut of Chinese athletes on the Stage of the Winter Olympics.
At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, shooter Xu Haifeng shot China's first Olympic gold medal. Also in that grand event, the Chinese women's volleyball team led by Lang Ping and Li Ning, the "prince of gymnastics" who won three golds, became China's shining new business cards.
In the midst of the exciting changes, Chinese athletes answered the second question of the "Three Olympic Questions".
Yang Yang (left), left, short track speed skating at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, USA, won the women's 500m final in Salt Lake City, USA, on February 16, 2002. For the Chinese delegation to achieve a "breakthrough of zero" for the gold medal of the Winter Olympic Games. Image source: Visual China
In the 21st century, short track speed skater Yang Yang won China's first Winter Olympic gold medal, ushering in new opportunities for the development of China's sports industry. Behind the successful bid for the Olympic Games, this milestone not only represents the world's recognition of China, but also allows the world to see China's enthusiasm and strength to participate in the Olympic Movement.
In 2008, the Beijing Olympic Games amazed the world. With an open and inclusive attitude, China has opened its arms to the world and let the world understand China.
A hundred years of dreams come true. China takes off, sports peers.
Opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Photo by Sun Hongjie, China News Service
Today, Beijing has become the world's first "City of Double Olympics".
Under the guidance of the olympic concept of "green, sharing, openness and integrity", from the innovation of "fire" to "micro-fire" at the opening ceremony, to the high-tech applications that can be seen everywhere inside and outside the stadium, to the first time in history achieved by the Beijing Winter Olympics... All of this reflects the boldness and cultural self-confidence of China's great power that dares to be the first, as well as the beautiful vision of "going to the future together" with the world.
In the face of the third question of the "three Olympic questions" a hundred years ago, today's China has handed over the perfect "double Olympic" answer sheet.
Opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Photo by Mao Jianjun, reporter of China News Service
Taking the preparation of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games and the Winter Paralympic Games as an opportunity, the realization of "300 million people participating in ice and snow sports" has made China more solid and powerful on the road of sports power. From the "Three Questions of the Olympic Games" to the City of the Two Olympics, and then to the future sea of stars, standing at the historical intersection of the "two hundred years" goal, the Olympic dream and sportsmanship will continue to inspire the sons and daughters of China and strive to realize the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation. (End)