All the right stuff on the white stuff
Snowsports in Xinjiang rack up promising results
The Tianshan Mountain is an endless region that lies between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and China. On this very far side in China’s northwest is a winterscape of deep snow, mountain vistas and blowing wind. With the first signs of the dawn appear on the horizon, a “snow wave” flashes from the top of the mountain to its foot.
After giving a demonstration for the students, snowboard coach Xu Xiujuan takes off her snowboard and starts her free open ski lesson during the entire morning.
Since the beginning of this snow season last November, Xu, the snowboard chief coach at the Xinjiang Baiyun International Ski Resort, has kept holding one or two free youth skiing public welfare lessons every week in the hope of encouraging children who love skiing to follow their passion and interests.
The 31-year-old was born in Harbin, capital of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, and the city is renowned for its ice and snow sports and activities. She started skiing at the age of 9. After years of study and training, Xu has participated in many large-scale events on behalf of the country and achieved excellent results. She was admitted into the national team and became an athlete.
In 2019, after retiring from the national team, Xu did not return to her hometown, but chose to live in Xinjiang, the great northwest, a parallel frozen world where ice and snow festivals are frequent in the winter. Temporary amusement grounds are staked out on ice-locked rivers which may be used as winter sport parks, fun parks, or children’s playgrounds.
“Xinjiang is endowed with abundant and superior ice and snow resources. The snow quality here is good, the air is good, and the weather is good too in the winter. It is especially suitable for skiing, but the lack of professional coaches has prevented the popularity of skiing from reaching a wider public. In response to the national call of having 300 million Chinese to fall in love with ice and snow sports, I think this is the place where I can build up my full potentials,” Xu says.
Xu Xiujuan and her husband Wang Wen met in Xinjiang, and later the couple opened a training school to promote ice and snow sports for young people and cooperate with local ski resorts to carry out teaching.
In this snow season, Xu has been insisting on offering free public classes at the ski resort.
Every day, a steady stream of snowsports enthusiasts come here to learn snowboarding skills with her. “It is really tiring, especially after the students have had their winter vacations. There are so many children who come to the ski resort to attend my classes. During the Spring Festival in February, I had been staying in the ski resort to teach, and my child could only be left to the grandparents at home,” Xu says. “But I am very pleased to see more and more young people enjoy my ski lessons.”
The snow season is coming to an end, and Xu’s husband Wang Wen has returned to Urumqi to reunite with the child. “I am the mother of a 2-and-a-half-year-old boy, and I am also in the early stage of starting a business. There are indeed many practical difficulties, but fortunately my family is very supportive, which has given me a lot of motivation,” Xu says.
Her husband was once a professional speed skater, and he understands his wife’s choice perfectly well. “I am also an athlete and identify with her love for skiing. Although our child is still young, and he needs the company of his mother, I am still willing to support her to pursue her dream,” says Wang, the husband.
Xu now shoulders many responsibilities. She is the counselor, technical director and expert group leader of the Xinjiang Ski Association.
For the future, Xu has many plans in addition to continuing to hold free public classes in the ski resort. She wants to enter the local primary and middle school campuses and bring skiing knowledge to more children. Xu also hopes that she can be assisting in the making of gold medals for Xinjiang’s ice and snow sports.
During the youth ski training, she will cultivate more candidates and send them to the professional team and then to the national team to win honors for the country. “Even if the students I teach do not achieve any outstanding results, as long as they can feel happy through skiing and keep in good health, I think everything I do is worth it,” she says.