Baby steps to giant strides

Ice-and-snow fever grips nation as winter sports boom keeps building momentum

Beijing 2022 has inspired hundreds of millions of Chinese to take up winter sports and recreational activities, leaving the country gleefully in the grip of ice-and-snow zeal.

Among the new enthusiasts is an 11-month-old girl who became an online hit this winter after a video clip of her snowboarding went viral on social media. In the video, the toddler squats on a small snowboard and slides smoothly down the piste on her own, giggling and flapping her arms.

The tiny snowboarder piqued many netizens' curiosity about ice and snow sports, often prompting the reaction:"If such a little kid can do so well, why can't I?"

China has exceeded its target of engaging 300 million people in winter sports, with the nationwide passion spilling over to the entertainment and tourism sectors. During the ongoing Spring Festival holiday, various winter-themed celebrations added to the festive atmosphere.

In Beijing, which on Friday officially took its place in history as the only host of both a Summer and Winter Games, locals have enjoyed skating on natural ice rinks－designated areas of frozen lakes, usually located in parks.

At the Summer Palace, a well-known scenic spot, a long line formed in front of the ticket office for the skating area on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

"What I like best is taking an ice bicycle with my friends," said a skating fan surnamed Gao. "It feels like an easy version of the bobsleigh. It's probably the simplest way to get in touch with the Winter Olympics."

The fervor for winter entertainment has even spread to areas with little or no snow, helped by the increasing availability of facilities and equipment.

As of early 2021, China had built 654 standard ice rinks across the country, up a whopping 317 percent from 2015. The country also boasts a total of 803 indoor and outdoor ski resorts.

Su Zhigang and his family, from northwestern China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, celebrated this Lunar New Year with a skiing trip.

"Compared with the traditional ways to celebrate, such as dining and playing mahjong, going skiing provided us with a more interesting and significant holiday," said Su.

The growing enthusiasm has sparked a winter tourism boom. Since December 2021, bookings for ice-and-snow tourist services on online travel platform Fliggy have maintained a weekly average growth rate of 46 percent.

A report published by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism predicts that this winter will see 305 million visits to ice-and-snow leisure venues, with revenue expected to exceed 320 billion yuan ($50.3 billion).

Bai Yufei, a professor at Beijing Sport University, said that enthusiasm for ice and snow sports has energized the tourism market in winter－a traditional off-peak time for travel－and boosted the homestay and catering industries.

He added that the sector can become a new driver of domestic demand and increase China's interactions with the rest of the world.