China News Service, Hulunbuir, February 26th: "Cold" competition brings excitement to small towns in northern Xinjiang

　　China News Service reporter Hao Lingyu

　　The competition in the Zhalantun Division of the 14th National Winter Games has come to an end.

National snow sports athletes including Su Yiming, Xu Mengtao, etc. ignited the competition venue with their passion. The ice and snow passion brought by the "14th Winter" made the small ice and snow town of Zhalantun lively.

　　Although the snow sports in the "Fourteenth Winter" experienced the test of strong winds and low temperatures, on the sidelines of the competition, the enthusiastic work of the "Fourteenth Winter" support personnel still made the competition venue warm and cozy.

　　The Zhalantun competition area is located on the east leeward slope of the Daxinganling Mountains. Under the prevailing winter monsoon conditions, meteorological elements such as wind direction and wind force are complex and changeable.

In order to accurately monitor the weather in the competition area, the weather forecast service team of the event will inspect meteorological observation points distributed around the track every morning.

　　Wang Ying, head of the weather forecast service team, introduced that five people from the Zhalantun competition area weather forecast service team have participated in meteorological service guarantees for the Beijing Winter Olympics.

It is also equipped with forecast "artifacts" derived from the Beijing Winter Olympics such as the "14th Winter Weather Production Service System", which can use weather forecasts to "shield the wind and snow" for contestants.

Weather forecast service personnel are inspecting the weather observation station next to the "14th Winter" competition venue.

Photo by reporter Hao Lingyu

　　Also sending warmth to the players is the "patron saint" of the ski resort - the Zhalantun Snow Police Team.

Before the start of each day's competition, the snow police members stepped on their snowboards to conduct safety inspections.

Wang Lei, captain of the Snow Police Team, said that the work of the Snow Police Team lasts from early morning to evening, with daily focus on skiing skills training and emergency rescue drills, taking into account dispute resolution, hidden danger investigation, and the important task of opening up a green channel for injured athletes on the field.

The Zhalantun Snow Police Team is in the Zhalantun Division of "Fourteenth Winter".

Photo provided by interviewee

　　Using the "14th Winter" competition venue as a medium, the enthusiasm brought by ice and snow sports is also transferred to the cultural field.

Du Yemei, an inheritor of paper-cutting intangible cultural heritage from Zhalantun, found creative inspiration during the "14th Winter" and created nearly 100 works for seven major snow events held in Zhalantun.

Among them, the work created for Beijing Winter Olympics champion Xu Mengtao received a "like" from Xu Mengtao himself.

"I am very proud that the small town of Zhalantun can host a national competition. I hope that my work can convey the enthusiasm of the 'Fourteenth Winter'." Du Yemei said.

　　Ai Shucai, director of the Cultural Industry Office of Zhalantun City, said that after the opening of the "14th Winter", an average of nearly a thousand people visited the cultural and creative exhibition hall of the competition area ski resort every day. The daily turnover of the "14th Winter" cultural and creative products in the exhibition hall Nearly 20,000 yuan.

"The collision between intangible cultural heritage and ice and snow events has shown its charm and radiated vitality."

　　In this small city famous for its ice and snow, more ordinary people are spreading their passion for sports through personal participation.

In the weather of minus 20 degrees Celsius in Zhalantun, a group of winter swimming enthusiasts are still keen to swim outdoors.

Zhang Siwei, president of the Zhalantun Winter Swimming Association, said that the association currently has nearly a hundred registered members. With the "14th Winter" being held, this "winter sport for the brave" is still attracting more people to participate.

　　In an old factory that has been idle for many years, Su Chunchen, the owner of the 1768 Ice and Snow Roller Skating Club, is busy on the speed skating venue he renovated.

Many children flocked to his skating rink during the winter vacation to learn basic skating techniques.

"1768" is the homophone of "Let's skate together". Su Chunchen hopes that the small ice rink can become a cradle to lay a foundation and help more children pursue their dream of becoming a champion.

　　The "14th Winter" is coming to an end, but the excitement brought by ice and snow sports will unfold in this small ice and snow town.

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