China's Heilongjiang ready to embrace Asian Winter Games

?

HARBIN - In the northeast corner of China, Heilongjiang province boasts rich ice and snow resources, and winter sports here have a profound tradition and continue to shine on the world stage.

Up to now, athletes from Heilongjiang have contributed 13 of China's 22 Winter Olympic gold medals.

On February 7, the opening ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games will be held in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang. More than 1,270 athletes from 34 countries and regions across Asia will compete, making this edition of the Winter Games the largest in terms of participating delegations and athletes.

As the hometown of a number of Winter Olympic champions, including speed skater Zhang Hong and figure skating pair Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, Harbin also hosted the 3rd Asian Winter Games in 1996, and has staged several editions of China's National Winter Games.

In Harbin, many outstanding skaters have emerged since the city's figure skating team was founded in the 1950s. Harbin native Yao Bin, who was part of China's first generation of figure skaters, became a coach after retiring from competition, and cultivated the 2010 Winter Olympic champions Shen and Zhao, as well as elite pairs Pang Qing and Tong Jian, and Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao.

At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, who were also born in Harbin, topped the podium in pairs figure skating. 29-year-old Sui is currently preparing for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics with a new partner, as Han announced his retirement in 2023 due to injury.

"Just like figure skating in Harbin, many other cities in Heilongjiang have their own prominent events with a long history to boost the overall development of winter sports," said Zhuang Shichao, deputy director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau.

In the 1970s, Meng Qingyu, then a coal miner in Heilongjiang's Qitaihe, stood out in a local skating competition, through which he earned the opportunity to become a skating coach in the municipal sports committee. The first task for Meng was to set up a skating team in Qitaihe.

Despite an open-air ice rink and tough conditions, Meng and his team never wavered in their dedication to improving their skills. Instructed by Meng, Zhang Jie was selected into China's national team and won the short track speed skating women's 3,000m relay gold together with teammates at the 1991 FISU Winter University Games.

Zhang was the first world champion from Qitaihe, before Yang Yang, Wang Meng, Sun Linlin and Fan Kexin, who were all proteges of Meng and won short track speed skating golds at the Winter Olympics.

Meng passed away in 2006 after a traffic accident, but his team members, including Zhang, took over the responsibility to cultivate more talents in speed skating.

In the west of Heilongjiang, Qiqihar formed its first ice hockey team in the 1950s. As one of the first cities in China to play the sport, Qiqihar has staged an ice hockey festival each January since 2017 and organizes ice hockey events all year round.

Currently, four skating ovals and over 200 outdoor ice rinks in Qiqihar are open to citizens, while more than 100 ice hockey teams at the city's primary and middle schools ensure a considerable depth of talent.

"Other cities in Heilongjiang such as Yichun, Hegang, and Jixi feature curling, Alpine skiing, and cross-country skiing," said Zhuang, adding, "The upcoming Asian Winter Games will further promote the development of winter sports with a history of over seven decades in Heilongjiang."