Keeping the Winter Olympic spirit alive
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the promotion of winter sports leading up to Beijing 2022 resulted in 346 million Chinese taking part in ice and snow activities.
A total of 654 standard ice rinks and 803 ski resorts were operating in China by the start of last year, increases of 317 percent and 41 percent respectively from 2015, when China won the bid to host the Winter Olympics.
"Thanks to the Beijing Winter Olympics, participating in winter sports has become a new trend among our citizens. Each year, about 50 percent of our population participate in winter sports," said Liu Haitao, an official of Beijing's Shijingshan district where Wednesday's activity took place.
"This is a great foundation for the future development of winter sports in our district. Today's activity will promote winter sports among more people, especially the younger generation."
