Skiing is a costly sport for most Chinese families. From hiring instructors to buying equipment, a single ski season can easily cost thousands of dollars.
To promote the development of ice and snow sports, the country is helping make these elite sports more accessible. Winter sports schools were established to train more athletes for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games and to develop the industry.
Xuanhua No.2 Middle School in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, a co-host of the 2022 Winter Games along with Chinese capital Beijing, is the best of all. The school has given hundreds of teenagers from disadvantaged families a chance to experience the fun of winter sports.
“My dream is to become an Olympian,” said Lü Yuanxin, a 15-year-old snowboarder from a small village in Zhuolu County, Zhangjiakou. With funding from the school, Lü, whose family is impoverished, is chasing his dreams of winning gold.
So far, the school has trained more than 200 competitive skiers, 31 of whom have made the national team, and seven national skiing judges.
“My biggest dream is to coach Olympians to continue this dream of ice and snow,” said Lü's coach, Sun Zhifeng, a three-time Olympian. “It's only half a hour's drive from the school to the Olympic venue, but for me and my trainees, it may take us 5 years, 10 years or more on the road to our dreams,” Sun told the Workers Daily.
1.An amateur skier skis through the woods at a ski resort in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, December 12,
2020
2. Liu Jiayu, a young skier from Xuanhua No.2 Middle School, during training on January 3, 2021, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province
3. Sun Zhifeng coaches a team of teenage snowboarders in slopestyle in Chongli Fulong Ski Resort in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, January 3, 2021
1. On January 4, 2021, after the New Year holiday, students from Xuanhua No.2 Middle School take the school bus to their training base at Chongli Fulong Ski Resort, Zhangjiakou
2. A teenage skier takes a tumble while practicing a 720-degree flip during training at Chongli Fulong Ski Resort, January 5, 2021
3. Lü Yuanxin (left) hands in his mobile phone to the team leader, January 4, 2021. Right after the New Year’s Day, the trainees of Xuanhua No.2 Middle School need to return to their training base
4. Coach Sun Zhifeng requires his students to continue training at night after their daily practice, January 4, 2021, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province
5. Lü Yuanxin perform flips to his classmate in the apartment complex where the students stay, Zhangjiakou, January 3, 2021
6. Lü Yuanxin practices snowboarding in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, January 3, 2021. Several days before, he placed second in the Youth Snowboarding Championship of Hebei Province, which earned him a certificate for a National Second-level Athlete