Gansu's slopes abuzz with winter sports enthusiasm

LANZHOU, Gansu－As the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games approach, enthusiasm for winter sports has exploded in Northwest China.

Typical of the growing demand is the Baiyin training base national snow event in Gansu province, where more and more youngsters are taking to the slopes.

During Xinhua's visit, over 200 elementary school students lined up at the Huada resort to ski as part of their educational excursions. Under an instructor's guidance, it took Wu Chenghui and his classmates around four hours to learn basic skiing skills.

"I am excited about the Beijing Winter Olympics. I will watch the skiing competitions on TV," said 12-year-old Wu, who added that he hopes his parents will take him skiing again this winter.

The local government has incorporated winter sports into physical education classes in schools, and plans to bring winter sports onto campuses as part of educational excursions.

"I hope that more and more children will enjoy winter sports. We all cheer for the Beijing Winter Olympics," said Lu Wen, manager of the Huada resort, adding that over 2,000 local elementary and middle school students have taken part in winter sports at Huada.

"We forecast that over 100,000 tourists will visit the resort this winter because of the enthusiasm surrounding the Beijing Olympics," Lu added.

The Baiyin training base was built by Shandong Huada Construction Group in late 2019, and comprises a ski service center with over 100 rooms, a 75-sq-km ski resort, an indoor training hall and a biathlon course.

The 2020-2021 China cross-country skiing championships were staged at the base last January. Over 200 athletes and coaches from more than 20 teams across China took part.

Liu Pengfei, head of the training and competition department of Gansu Winter Sports Management Center, said that over 50 skiers from the center are currently training at the base.

"The sub-plateau climate here is a key factor in improving skiers' performance," Liu said.

Li Yingtao, deputy chairman of Shandong Huada Construction Group, said that Paralympians from China's cross-country skiing and biathlon teams have come to the base to prepare for the 2022 Games.

Ice hockey, skiing and other winter sports are rising in popularity on campuses in Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and Xinjiang. With improvements in facilities for winter sports, northwest China is witnessing a boom in the sector.

Since last November, 48-year-old Mei Yufang from Baiyin city has been a regular at Huada.

"The resort is close to the urban area, and the infrastructure is good. I choose to ski here to keep fit in winter," said Mei, adding that public transport services conveniently link the resort to the city, 30 kilometers away.

Xinhua