(Beijing Winter Olympics) 300 million people participate in ice and snow sports: when vision reflects reality

　　China News Service, Beijing, December 28

　　Author Xie Yanbing Xing Chong

　　Zhang Yuwei, who works in Shanghai, has fallen in love with skiing in recent years, and now she skis more frequently-she no longer needs to go outside in the snow season, and can enjoy skiing anytime and anywhere in the indoor ski resort nearby.

　　Liao Shengkang was originally a fan of ice and snow. After experiencing many ski resorts in the world, when he came to Guangzhou, he found that the ice and snow facilities here are beyond imagination and are "quite friendly" for beginners.

"I can call a lot of friends to play, everyone is very happy."

The picture shows a selfie of college students taking part in the test.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhai Yujia

　　Affected by factors such as geography and climate, "Ice and snow sports do not leave Shanhaiguan" is a true portrayal of China in the past.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of the Beijing Winter Olympics, ice and snow sports in China gradually broke the time and space constraints, and the vision of "driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports" gradually became a reality.

　　Data show that as of the beginning of 2021, 654 standard ice rinks and 803 indoor and outdoor ski resorts have been built across China, an increase of 317% and 41% respectively compared with 2015.

Take Shanghai as an example. In 2015, there were only more than ten ice and snow venues in the city. Now it has more than doubled. The world's largest indoor ski resort "Ice and Snow Star" is also expected to be completed in 2022.

　　What makes Zhang Yuwei even more excited is that in recent years, top international events such as the World Figure Skating Championships and the Short Track Speed ​​Skating World Cup have landed in Shanghai one after another. She and her family and friends teamed up to watch the competitions. "Many people fell in love with skating because of this."

　　In addition to Shanghai, Chongqing has also hosted the China Curling Open and the China Cup World Figure Skating Grand Prix. Not long ago, the 8th National Volkswagen Ice and Snow Season of the China Ice and Snow Brand Event was launched simultaneously in the three places in Hubei.

The landing of this series of major domestic and international ice and snow activities has further spurred China's ice and snow sports "southern expansion, westward expansion, eastward advancement".

　　At the same time, in the northeastern region with a solid foundation, ice and snow sports have set off an upsurge, almost becoming a must-have "sports skill" for young people.

Just a few days ago, Xue Chengcheng won the third place in the Jilin Province Youth Ice Hockey Championship. His mother Zhang Siqi told reporters that his son would play ice hockey twice a week on average, and some children in the northeast even played ice every day.

　　Zhang Siqi was a visiting scholar abroad. After the successful bid for the Beijing Winter Olympics, she immediately encouraged her son to participate in ice and snow sports. She also personally felt that the ice stadiums in Changchun and Jilin have become more professional and international in the past few years. Coach The level even "does not lose to the American ice hockey coach."

　　In Beijing, the "Double Olympic City", about 200 special schools for ice and snow sports have been built. The number of elementary and middle school students in the city has reached nearly 2.1 million. Slope and other interesting events have developed into professional events such as short track speed skating, figure skating, curling, ice hockey, alpine skiing, snowboarding, etc. The competition period has also changed from the first one month to the current two months.

　　Shen Xue, chairman of the China Figure Skating Association, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Agency that in recent years, the association has adopted a series of forms such as club leagues and figure skating broadcast exercises to encourage young people to participate. "300 million people participating in ice and snow sports" is changing from a vision to a reality. , Lay a solid foundation for the cultivation of reserve talents for China's ice and snow sports.

　　It has been less than 40 days since the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics. In Beijing’s first Winter Olympics community, Shijingshan Gaojing Road community, world champions Sui Wenjing, Han Cong, Wu Dajing, and Ren Ziwei shared their stories of sprinting and preparing for the Winter Olympics with the community.

Sui Wenjing told reporters that this is the second time she has walked into the Winter Olympics community. She truly felt everyone's enthusiasm for ice and snow sports, and even her grandparents had a lot of knowledge about ice and snow.

　　"Everyone pays attention to our ice and snow sports from bit by bit, just like a drop of stone, everything is developing in the best direction, and our goals and visions are being realized, and they will definitely be realized." Sui Wenjing said.

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