After heading downhill, man reaching new heights

Shepherd lost flock but found life on skis

In 2016, Lang Enge was in a funk. Due to stricter environmental regulations in Beijing's Yanqing district, he'd had to sell his entire flock of sheep - more than 300 - for just 330 yuan ($50) a head, far lower than the 1,300 yuan he'd paid for them two years earlier.

Yet he was soon lifted from despair by a trailer promoting the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, which inspired him to organize a ski and snowboard team composed primarily of pastoral farmers.

With the hillsides free of sheep manure and the grass rejuvenated from a reduction in grazing, Zhangshanying town broke ground on the Winter Olympics Forest Park, a winter sports-themed construction project.

The development has proved transformative for many local young people.

"The town Party secretary told me not to feel sad about the loss of my sheep and urged me to consider doing something else," Lang, 28, said.

"The idea of establishing a ski team struck me, and I decided to organize one before the Winter Olympics."

He said children in Zhangshanying were accustomed to helping with small tasks for the nearby Shiqinglong ski resort from an early age, "so people in the town who could ski generally had an average of 10 years' experience".

Haituo ski team, also known as the "farmer ski team", was established on Sept 11, comprising 18 members with an average age of 26.

"Skiing is like a natural skill for us," Lang said. "But after our ski team was set up, our skiing skills have become more professional."

On Dec 14, 11 members of the team were offered an opportunity to train with the Swiss Ski Association in Beijing, with qualified skiers earning first-level teaching certificates to help pass on their talents.

Earlier this year the team went to Jilin province to hone their skills under the guidance of China's national ski team.

Over several months, the Haituo team members have developed a series of new methods to teach aspiring students how to best traverse the slopes.

"You can't use many professional words to teach children how to ski, but we just need to use more familiar descriptions such as 'stand on your snowboards like you're leveling the frosting on a cake' to better relate to young students," said Yan Qingsheng, 23, one of the team members.

The number of trainee candidates for the ski team has surged to 5,000.

"I hope people who go skiing in Yanqing can stay on for more coaching, and a larger skiing population will be created," Yan said.

"The Beijing Winter Olympics are also a great opportunity for Zhangshanying and the villagers," he added.

"But if skiing infrastructure is fully set up and no one comes to ski, the whole idea will be invalidated."

For former shepherd Lang, doing his best to make the 2022 Beijing Games a success is his Olympic dream.

"When the ski trails are completed, we hope to help athletes do something with their skis and snowboards to more actively participate in the Winter Olympics," he said.