Changchun, 4 Jan (Xinhua) -- The majestic 100-meter-long, 25-meter-wide and 20-meter-high majestic snow sculpture "Guotai Min'an" stands next to the main venue of the 2020 China Changchun Jingyuetan Vaasa International Ski Festival (hereinafter referred to as "China Vaasa"), attracting many tourists to take photos. Li Geliang, 39, remembers that 18 years ago, the snow sculptures in the same location were only a few meters long, but now, the layout is magnificent and the scenery is spectacular.
Participants set off during the race. Xinhua News Agency reporter Luo Yuan took the photo
Originating in 1922 and now 97 years old, the Vaasa Ski Festival in Sweden is the largest cross-country skiing event in the world. In 2002, Gao Youyuan, a Swede promoter of the Vaasa International Competition, came to Changchun, and after inspecting the 145 square kilometers of plantation sea in Jingyuetan National Forest Park, he issued a sigh of "here is too much like Northern Europe", which contributed to Changchun becoming the fourth place in the world after Mugla, Hokkaido and Minnesota.
In the past 18 years, Vaasa has been growing in China, and this "Nordic wind" has rolled up the "Chinese snow" and created the "Chinese Vaasa" that is now famous overseas.
Participants depart from the starting point (drone shot). Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Chang took the photo
At the opening ceremony of "China Vaasa" on the 4th, 1,500 professional athletes and ski enthusiasts from 30 countries and regions such as China, Belgium, Canada, Denmark and Finland indulged in the ride, including more than 500 foreign athletes. Poland's Ivona, who is participating in "China's Vaasa" for the first time, said: "My mother and I are both coming to China for the first time, this long trip is very wonderful, I like the atmosphere here. ”
"At the time of the first Jingyuetan Vaasa Ski Festival in 2003, there were only more than 700 participants, and the scene was far less lively than it is now." Li Geliang said, "I have been engaged in professional cross-country skiing since 1997, and before 2003, I was basically 'behind closed doors', and there were very few opportunities to participate in international events. ”
Cross-country skiing started late in China, and not only did athletes lack competition exercise, but people's understanding of the event was almost blank. Ning Jun, who has been engaged in the preparation of "China's Vaasa" for many years, told reporters that before Vaasa settled in Changchun, the Chinese organizers even raised the "layman" question of whether the 50-kilometer race could be completed 10 times on the 5-kilometer track when preparing for the race.
Contestants in the competition. Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Chang took the photo
The fastest way to improve is to bring in the world's best at home. After Vaasa settled in Changchun, the cross-country skiing World Cup points race had Changchun Station. Since then, the China Tour, the 25km Blueberry Race, and the 2.5km Volkswagen Ski Race have been added. In 2014, Jingyuetan Vaasa officially joined the world's largest and highest-level long-distance cross-country skiing organization "World Roppert", attracting a group of cross-country skiers at home and abroad.
"Those were the fastest improvements in my career." Li Geliang said. From not being on the same level with foreign players, to competing for the championship evenly matched, to winning the Asian group championship of the 2004 Beijing International Sprint Competition, Li Geliang's rapid growth has become the epitome of China's cross-country skiing rapidly catching up with the world's first-class level.
"A winter sports event that originated in Northern Europe and is not good for the Chinese people, can continue to grow into an ice and snow sports festival for 18 years, which is rare in China." Zhao Xiaolu, deputy director of the Changchun Municipal Sports Bureau, said, "After so many years of running the competition, from learning snowboard waxing to learning from the operation of the event, we have also been exploring the experience of the development of China's ice and snow sports." ”
With the East Wind of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics "driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports", the passionate "China Vaasa" has also ignited people's enthusiasm for "going on" ice and snow. "Vaasa has become a festival for our university students every year, and college students in Changchun have the opportunity to participate in this large-scale ice and snow event, and every year there are graduating students who come back, and we meet again through skiing." Liu Guangda, director of the competition department of changchun Guanghua College Football College, said.
Contestants in the competition (drone shooting). Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Chang took the photo
Cross-country skiing training for university students has always been one of the important contents of the Vaasa Ski Festival. Yang Wenjun, deputy director of the management committee of Changchun Jingyue High-tech Zone, said that in the past 18 years, more than 700,000 college students in Changchun have received cross-country skiing training. "Especially after the successful bid for the Beijing Winter Olympics, more and more people have taken the initiative to participate in ice and snow sports."
Nowadays, "China Vaasa" has developed from a single sports event into an international event for the prosperity and development of multiculturalism such as sports, economy and trade, tourism and tourism, and has been rated as one of the top ten most influential ice and snow tourism festivals in China and selected as the first batch of national sports tourism boutique events. This ice and snow sports festival successfully helped Changchun white snow become "platinum".
At the beginning of each new year, the China Changchun Jingyuetan Vaasa International Ski Festival must be the most important large-scale tourism and cultural activity in Changchun, athletes compete passionately, many experts and scholars exchange and learn from each other, and tourists at home and abroad enjoy ice and snow... Every year, during the event, the European Radio and Television Union sends journalists to record a 30-minute special program that is broadcast in more than 40 countries. The Vaasa Economic and Trade Fair during the Ski Festival has also become an efficient "platinum converter", and in the past 18 years, Changchun City has reached a total of more than 200 billion yuan of signed projects through Vasa.
"Vaasa has not only created an international well-known brand of ice and snow culture, but also become an important platform for Changchun's opening up to the outside world and economic and trade exchanges and cooperation." Changchun Vice Mayor Jia Lina said.
Today, Li Geliang still stands on the field of "China's Vaasa", but his identity has changed from an athlete to a referee. He is looking forward to seeing more Chinese faces on the track and fighting for the title.
Chinese Editor: Liu Yang
New Media Editor: Wei Hua
Issued: Liang Jinxiong
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