LANZHOU, China, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The 2020-2021 China Cross-country Skiing Championships ended on Monday at the national snow events training base in Baiyin city in northwest China's Gansu Province.
During the last two weeks, around 500 participants, including athletes, coaches, judges, and staff members, took part in the first-ever snow event held at the base, which is just under 1,800 meters above sea level.
Participating coaches and athletes believe winter time in northwest China is being enriching for skiers.
"The mile-high base is good for athletes to have good performances," said Zhang Bei, team manager of China's cross-country skiing training team. From the end of January to the beginning of February, the local temperature was generally higher than zero degrees celsius, which allowed athletes to wear light clothes, enhancing their performance.
"It was common for us to get frostbite on the face and hands during competition and practice in northeast China in the past," said Li Xin, who participated in the Winter Olympic Games in 2010 and 2018.
"I am eager to stand on the podium at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games," Li said.
According to many professionals, winter in Baiyin city and central parts of Gansu Province is not as cold as other resorts in northeast China.
"From December to the end of February, this base is suitable for hosting snow events," said Liu Pengfei, the Gansu Winter Sports Management Center team manager.
Statistics revealed by the 2019 white paper on the Chinese skiing industry showed that 770 resorts had been put into use in China as of the end of that year. There were 186 resorts in northwest China, including Gansu Province, Shaanxi Province, Qinghai Province, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
"Snow events in northwest China have been consistently cultivated as an important supplement to China's winter sports," said Zhang, adding that China will gradually narrow its gap in cross-country skiing with other winter sports powers. Enditem
