Shanxi's first Youth Ice and Snow Carnival opened in Taigu county, Shanxi province, on Feb 3, with more than 300 teenagers from all around Shanxi taking part in the carnival.

It's the first time that Shanxi has ever held a youth winter sports event. The carnival is also an event in the Shanxi leg of the 2018 national youth winter sports conference hosted in Harbin, capital of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, on Feb 5.

The carnival aimed to provide a platform to boost interest in winter sports and a competitive spirit for the winter Olympics amongst young people in Shanxi as well as to explore the idea of combining sports and tourism, according to Zhao Wenli, director of the youth sports division at the Sports Bureau of Shanxi province.

The carnival included different components, such as sport matches, a sport amusement park and cultural communication for the winter Olympics.

The sport matches consisted of five-a-side football, tug of war and a relay race in the snowfields. The amusement park offered activities such as skiing, shooting and archery, snowmobile driving, and snow tubing. Q&As about the winter Olympics and a talent show for teenagers will be launched as a part of the winter Olympics cultural communication component.

The opening ceremony of the first Shanxi Youth Ice and Snow Carnival takes place in Taigu county, Shanxi province, on Feb 3. [Photo/news.cn]

Zhao Xiaochun, director of the Sports Bureau of Shanxi province, kicks off and a five-a-side football game at the first Shanxi Youth Ice and Snow Carnival in Taigu county on Feb 3. [Photo/news.cn]