People enjoying the fun of ice and snow sports at Four Seasons Ski Resort Park in Nantian Lake, Fengdu County, Chongqing (File photo, photographed by Lu Yue/Vision Chongqing)

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- “Every time I come to Nantian Lake for skiing, I just feel good!” Liu Cong, a member of the public, told the reporter inside Nantian Lake International Ski Resort, Fengdu. Although it was late in the day, many people were still experiencing the joy of skiing at Nantian Lake International Ski Resort.

The lively scene at Fengdu Nantian Lake International Ski Resort is just a microcosm of the development of ice and snow sports in Chongqing.

The reporter learned that a large number of professional fields, such as Shizhu Lingshui International Ski Resort, have been completed one after another as the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games approaches, and Chongqing has become a home to ice and snow sports in China as the public’s enthusiasm for the sport rises.

Quality fields to boost snow and ice sports

Recently, the documentary series Footprints in the Snow, jointly launched by CCTV Sports Youth Program Center and CCTV.com, was premiered on the all new media platforms of CCTV. For the documentary that night, the camera was turned to Chongqing Hockey Prince Team for a story involving them and hockey.

In fact, this is not the first time that CCTV focused on ice and snow sports in Chongqing. At the beginning of January, CCTV launched a special report on Chongqing entitled “Ice and Snow Map of China”, under the title “Chongqing - an Anthem of Ice and Fire”, showing to the national audience the booming development of ice and snow sports in Chongqing. 

It is worth mentioning that in both programs, when interviewees were asked why ice and snow sports in Chongqing have achieved what they have, they all unanimously said that it was mainly due to the fact that Chongqing has a number of excellent ice and snow sports venues and fields.

“Professional events require professional competition venues to support them. In recent years, Chongqing has built a number of ice and snow venues, including Huaxi Live - Yudong Cultural and Sports Center, Fengdu Nantian Lake International Ski Resort and Chongqing Sunac Snow World. The successive completion of these venues has allowed Chongqing not only to have the capacity to host large professional events, but also to provide hardware support for the development of ice and snow sports in Chongqing.” Zhang Xin, Deputy Director of Chongqing Sports Bureau, said.

Chongqing-based athletes in ice and snow sports making their mark in China

SHISEIDO Cup of China ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2020 came to an end in Chongqing in November 2020, with junior athletes Huang Yihang and Chen Yudong, who are on behalf of Chongqing, playing brilliantly and helping Chongqing win a silver medal and a bronze medal, achieving a breakthrough of zero medals in international events for Chongqing’s winter sports. 

A month later, Chongqing hockey team played equally well in 2020 National Men’s Hockey Championship in Tengchong, Yunnan, finishing in sixth place.

Alongside the active training of professional athletes, Chongqing has not neglected the training of professional talents such as ice and snow coaches and referees. According to Zhang Xin, Chongqing has launched various training activities from 2018 to date, covering regular sports such as hockey, figure skating and skiing, with a total of nearly 500 ice and snow sports coaches and ice and snow sports enthusiasts participating in the development of ice and snow sports in Chongqing. “We have the confidence to participate in the 14th National Winter Games thanks to the implementation of these measures,” Ke Ping said.

Getting more people involved in snow and ice sports

“The enthusiasm of Chongqing people for ice and snow sports in recent years is still mainly related to the general environment for the development of ice and snow sports in China.” Zhang Xin said that ice and snow sports in China have also ushered in a golden period of development in the approach of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games.

“According to incomplete statistics, the cumulative number of people participating in ice and snow sports in Chongqing is nearly one million each year, so it can be said that ice and snow sports have become a reserved item of sports and recreation for the people of Chongqing every winter,” Ke Ping said.

Chongqing will encourage more people to experience the joy of ice and snow sports by actively relying on ice and snow facilities, forming venue linkages and popularizing ice and snow sports to the masses through online ice and snow activities, parent-child ski competitions and snow season winter camps. (Translated by Wang Huixin, Fathom Language Limited)