WHY SNOW IS HOT 亞洲滑雪熱
As the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics kick off, PAUL MCCOMISH charts the growing popularity of winter sports across Asia 隨著平昌冬季奧運揭幕， Paul McComish探討席捲亞洲的冬季運動熱潮
Every Sunday just outside Beijing, Mr Zhou pushes his feet into his oversized boots and snaps the buckles before slotting them into the bindings on his long, shiny skis. They’re almost as long as Mr Zhou himself and he sways uneasily as he clambers to his feet once they’re fixed. He reaches for his helmet and goggles and crouches in his most exaggerated pose before declaring himself ready.
Mr Zhou, a Beijing taxi driver for 35 years, is one of the 15.1 million snow enthusiasts that visited China’s ski resorts in 2016. At 66 years old, Mr Zhou is among the oldest skiers on this slope – ‘it’s more of a young person’s pursuit,’ he admits – but he’s also one of its most enthusiastic.
Skiers are a growing demographic, and one that Xi Jinping is banking on expanding even more before the 2022 Winter Olympics are held in China.
每個星期日，周先生都會來到北京，市郊 穿上大號的滑雪靴，將靴扣扣好，然後再踏上閃閃發亮的長滑雪板上扣緊。兩塊滑雪板的長度幾乎與周先生的身高一樣，因此他將靴子扣好後站起來時動作顯得蹣跚。待雙腿在狹長的滑雪板上站穩後，他戴上頭盔和目護 鏡，然後一以 個誇張的姿態蹲下，表示已準備就緒。
2016年，前往中國滑雪度假村的滑雪愛好者達1,510萬人，在北京做了35年的士司機的周先生是其中一個。周先生已年屆66歲，是滑雪坡上其中一位年長的滑雪者雖， 然他也認為「滑雪是較適合年輕人的玩意」，但卻無損他對滑雪的熱愛。
在中國，來多愈 愈 人愛上滑雪，個而這上升的趨勢更有望如習近平所願，持續至2022年北京冬季奧運會。
新聞主播及《滑雪在中國》一書作者鄭峻峰指出，冬季運動興起其的 中一個原因，是國民的社會地位提升，們人 閒暇多了，然自 會尋找各種消遣娛樂。他認為
SKIING IS SO ADDICTIVE – IN CHINA WE CALL IT ‘ WHITE OPIUM’在中國，滑雪是一種令人上癮的運動，有「白色鴉片」之稱
Zheng Junfeng, a broadcaster and author of Ski in China, says one reason for the rise of winter sports is the boost in social status that comes with skiing. He believes winter sports are an aspirational pursuit in China, especially given that 54 per cent of China will be classified as ‘upper middle’ class by 2022, according to consultant McKinsey.
‘ Wealthy families are looking for exciting ways to spend their leisure time,’ he says. ‘ Winter sports are high- end and are linked with other high- end sports like polo and golf – it’s considered a social status thing.
‘Once people have tried skiing they are very likely to continue doing it because it’s addictive. In China, we call it “white opium”. It’s also a good way for families to spend time together. It’s one of the few sports that whole families can do together. It provides a good break from urban life.’
Enthusiasm for winter sports across Asia has heightened since South Korea’s Pyeongchang county was chosen to host this year’s Winter Olympics; and that interest intensified when Beijing was selected to host the 24th edition in 2022.
Those Games will represent just the
冬運季 動在中國是令人嚮往的身份象徵，根據麥肯錫諮詢公司的數據，中國到了2022年佔， 54％的人口會被歸類為「中上」階層，相信會有愈來愈多人嘗試冬運季 動的。樂趣
他表示：「富裕家庭喜歡尋找的刺激 消遣活動。冬運季 動所費不菲，常被人與馬球和高爾夫球等高消運費的 動相提並論，因此被視為社會地位的。象徵 」
「當民眾嘗過滑雪滋味後，大多數都會繼續玩這種運動，它因為 很容易令人上癮。在中國，我們將滑雪稱為『白色鴉。片』滑雪亦是共享天倫之樂的理想活動，因為很少運可動 供全家一起參與，而滑雪就是其中一種。此外，滑雪也能夠讓大家暫時擺脫忙碌的都市生活，放鬆身心。」
自從南韓平獲昌 選為冬今年 季奧運會的主辦城市，後 亞洲人對冬運季 動的致興 就益提，發 高 而隨著北京獲選為2022年第24屆冬奧的主辦城市，這份興趣更是有增無減。
平昌和北冬京 奧只是這場體壇盛事第三和第四度於亞洲舉行。本日 過往曾兩次主辦冬奧， 括年1972 札幌冬奧和1998年長野冬奧。兩次冬奧圓滿結束後，日本全國都爆發冬運季 動的。熱潮
現時日本全國擁有超過500家滑雪度假村。1972年冬奧束，結 後 以前從未因冬季運動而聞名於世的日本，搖身一變成為全球各地愛好者的熱門勝地。時至今日，本日仍然以一流的滑雪環境和風景秀麗著稱，更台在跳 滑雪項目中名列前茅。 third and fourth times that the Winter Olympics have been staged in Asia. Japan has previously hosted the Games twice: in Sapporo in 1972, and in Nagano in 1998. After each of those successful Olympics, the country’s love of winter sports exploded.
Today, there are over 500 ski resorts in Japan. After the 1972 Games, the country went from a virtual unknown in the winter sports community to becoming a popular destination for enthusiasts across the world. It still enjoys a reputation for its superb skiing conditions and exquisite scenery. Japan is also one of the world’s leading competitors in ski jumping.
Christina MacFarlane is a winter sports
Christina MacFarlane在CNN主持冬季運動新聞報道，她認為日本主辦冬奠奧， 定了該國發展冬運季 動的基礎。本「日 擁有相對長較 的冬運季 動歷史，這得歸功於1972年和1998年舉辦冬奧，並於1972年在跳台滑雪項目 辦三面獎牌的優秀表現。奧冬結後束，台跳 滑雪運動持續發展，成為日本的，強項 至今表現依然有聲有色。」
自南韓贏得2018年冬奧主辦權轉後， 眼已過了六年多，當地一直在密鑼緊鼓地進行籌備工作。主辦單位多次組團前往歐洲和北美接受訓練，致力彌補專業知的識 不足，確保在聖火於29月 日抵達平昌時不會出洋相。
MacFarlane補充道：「南韓主辦1988年漢城（首爾舊稱）夏季奧運會非常成功，因此即使他們缺少主辦冬運季 動比賽的經驗，仍能說服國際奧委會，將2018年冬奧 broadcaster for CNN. She believes the foundations for Japan’s winter sports development were forged in its hosting of the Games. ‘Japan in particular has had a relatively long winter sports history thanks to the 1972 and 1998 Winter Olympics, and its performance in the ski jump in ’72 [when Japanese athletes swept all three medals]. After the Games, ski jumping continued to develop, resulting in an area of excellence that continues to flourish today.’
It’s over six years since South Korea was awarded the 2018 Games and the country has been busy preparing ever since. Teams of Games officials have attended training courses in Europe and North America in an effort to compensate for their lack
of expertise and to ensure they don’t fluff their lines when the torch lands in Pyeongchang on 9 February.
‘South Korea’s success in hosting the Seoul [Summer] Olympics in 1988 convinced the International Olympic Committee to accept them as hosts for 2018, even without substantial winter sports experience,’ MacFarlane adds. ‘I expect South Korea will follow in the same footsteps as Japan, which has shown that a home Olympics can be a big driver in creating a sporting legacy and industry.’
In China, nothing provides a fillip for a sport quite like success on the global stage. An Olympic gold on home soil would fire winter sports into the stratosphere, as Li Na’s success in becoming the first Asian to win a grand slam title at the French Open in 2011 did for tennis in China.
But Zheng Junfeng suggests the country already has deep roots in winter sports.
‘According to anthropologists, humans started skiing in the outer mountains of Xinjiang around 10,000 years ago,’ he says.
‘ That much has been recognised by historians. But in modern Asia, in the past few decades, people were just not really into the sport. Modern skiing originated from the Alpine region of Europe. All the ski equipment, all the clothing, the snow making machinery are European. So it’s an imported sport for Asians and specifically Chinese. In that sense it will take some time for people to acknowledge it as a common pastime.’
The sprawling Genting Resort Secret Garden, just outside Beijing near the city of Zhangjiakou in Hebei province, is one of China’s largest ski resorts. It’s one of a raft of new facilities that has sprung up in China in recent years. At the 2022 Winter Olympics, it will host skiing and snowboarding events. The resort is a staggering undertaking: costing RMB6.5 billion (HK$7.7 billion) and occupying 99 square kilometres of land, it offers 87 ski routes, an ice rink and a hotel.
Mr Zhou’s belated skiing career began at the Genting resort and it’s there he can be found each Sunday on one of its intermediate slopes. ‘My aim is to be good enough to represent the country in 2022,’ he says. 主辦權交給他們。預我 料南韓將步日本的後塵，成為冬季運動勝地，再次證明主辦奧運會能夠大力推動當地運動項目的發展，開風氣之先。」
在中國，只要有某項運動在世界體壇上取得優秀，成績 自然能夠掀起熱潮。以東道國身份於冬奧，摘金 將可令冬季運動迅速走紅，正如李娜於2011年法國網球公開賽成為首位贏取大滿貫的亞洲球手之後，令中國掀起網球熱潮一樣。
不過鄭峻峰認為，冬季運動與中國其實淵源甚深。
他說：「人類學家認為，早於10,000年前左，右 已有人類開始在今日新疆外圍一帶的山峰上滑雪。」
「歷史學家亦認同此說。但過去數十年，現代亞洲人並不怎麼熱衷滑雪。現代滑雪發源於歐洲阿爾卑斯山脈地區，所有滑雪裝備、服裝和製雪機器都是歐洲的產物。因此對亞洲人，尤其是中國人而言，滑雪是一種外傳的國 入 運動，人們需要一段時間才能接受這是一項普的通 消閒活動。」
規模龐的苑大 密 雲頂樂園位於北京近郊，毗鄰河北省張家口市，是中國數一數二的大型滑雪度假村，亦是近年在中國湧現的眾多嶄新設施之一。2022年冬季奧運會的滑雪和單板滑雪項目將在這裡舉行。這個度假村的建造工程十分浩大，耗資65億人民幣（ 77億港元） ，佔地99平方公里，配備87條滑雪道、一個溜冰場和一家酒店。
周先生姍姍來遲的滑雪事業正是在密苑雲頂樂園度假村展開的，每逢星期日，他都在那裡的級中 雪道練習。他說：「我的目標，是達到一定的水平，足以於2022年代表國家出賽。」