China News Service, Harbin, February 25 (Reporter Jiang Hui and Wang Nina) On the 25th, the 2023 China-Russia Jiejiang Heilongjiang International Ice Hockey Friendship Match kicked off, attracting more than 600 Chinese and Russian spectators to watch the match.

　　At the opening ceremony, Han Shengjian, Vice Governor of Heilongjiang Provincial Government, and Vasily Aleksandrovich Orlov, Governor of Amur Region, Russia exchanged gifts and kicked off the game together.

More than 600 Chinese and Russian spectators watched the game live.

Photo courtesy of Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau

　　The venue for this competition is located on the frozen river of Heilongjiang (Amur River) opposite No. 1 Muxin Street, Blagoveshchensk, Russia. It is divided into three groups: children, teenagers and adults. Each group selects a team of 10 to participate.

The Chinese youth team consists of the Harbin Youth Club and the Qiqihar Youth Team; the youth team consists of the men’s ice hockey team of the Heilongjiang Winter Management Center, the Qiqihar Youth Team, and the Harbin Youth Team; the adult team consists of some former Chinese national team retired athletes and some Harbin, It is composed of retired ice hockey players from Qiqihar.

Each group of games is divided into 3 quarters of 10 minutes each.

On February 25, the 2023 China-Russia Jiejiang Heilongjiang International Ice Hockey Friendship Match kicked off.

Photo courtesy of Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau

　　Heilongjiang Province is the birthplace of ice hockey in China, with a long history of ice hockey and a solid mass base.

China's Heilongjiang Province and Russia have a long history of sports exchanges. The two sides have exchanges and cooperation in winter sports such as figure skating, ice hockey, curling, cross-country skiing, and speed skating.

Since 2017, the China-Russia Jiejiang Heilongjiang International Ice Hockey Friendship Match has been held for four consecutive times. This is the fifth time that the ice hockey teams of the two countries have competed on the Jiejiang River.

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