To implement the national sports administration’s strategy of “expanding winter sports southward, westward, and eastward,” achieve the goal of engaging “300 million people in winter sports,” and fully prepare for the 2020 National Winter Games and the 2022 Winter Olympics, on the afternoon of December 28, 2019, the Chongqing 2nd Ice and Snow Sports Season and the Launch Ceremony of Chongqing 2019 Winter Tourism Activities were grandly held at the Nantianhu International Ski Resort in Fengdu County. The event was co-hosted by the Chongqing Municipal Sports Bureau, the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development, the CPC Fengdu County Committee, and the People’s Government of Fengdu County, and co-organized by the Chongqing Social Sports Guidance Center, the Fengdu County Commission of Culture and Tourism Development, the Fengdu County Tourism Development and Construction Management Committee, and Chongqing Songyue Travel Co., Ltd.
The launch ceremony attracted over 1,000 participants, mainly including representatives from ski resorts and ice rinks across the city, skiing enthusiasts, tourists, as well as teachers and students participating in ice and snow social practice activities. Following the ceremony, the first Chongqing Snow Tug-of-War Invitational Tournament and the first Chongqing Snow Volleyball Invitational Tournament will be held at the ski resort. In addition, to continuously meet the growing and diverse ice and snow sports fitness needs of the public, a series of events and mass ice and snow competitions closely aligned with the everyday lives of residents will be held throughout the ice and snow sports season, ensuring that citizens can participate in, learn, and experience a rich variety of ice and snow sports activities both indoors and outdoors.
Chongqing is nationally known as a southern “furnace” city. To implement the national “Ice and Snow Sports Development Plan (2016–2025),” we have mobilized all sectors of society and a wide range of ice and snow sports enthusiasts to actively participate in the promotion, popularization, and improvement of ice and snow programs. By organizing exciting ice and snow events, we aim to foster a positive atmosphere for ice and snow sports in our city and drive their vigorous development. To date, a total of 27 ice and snow events and activities have been held in our city, including 5 national-level events, 1 international-level event, and 6 training sessions. From November 8 to 10, the 2019 Shiseido China Cup World Figure Skating Grand Prix was held at the Chongqing Huaxi Cultural and Sports Center, attracting high-level athletes from around the world. This event significantly boosted local interest in figure skating, with over 20,000 attendees during the competition. Hosting such high-level international competitions will help advance our city’s sports industry and the development of ice and snow sports, while promoting their popularization and enhancement.
The 14th National Winter Games will be held in February 2020 in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. This edition of the Winter Games is the highest-standard, highest-level, and largest comprehensive winter sports event in China. It serves as a showcase for the economic, social, and sports development achievements of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government. Chongqing will make its first appearance at the National Winter Games, which is of great significance for the development and promotion of ice and snow sports in southern cities. The Chongqing delegation will compete in nine events: bobsleigh, luge, snowboarding, figure skating, ice hockey, inline hockey, curling, wheelchair curling, and roller skating.
The development of ice and snow sports in our city has strongly driven the growth of the ice and snow industry. We have currently built six indoor ice rinks in the city: the Blue Ice Rink at Huaxi LIVE Banan Sports Center, the Century Star Ice Rink in Dashi Dam, Jiangbei District, the Century Star Ice Rink in Shapingba Times Paradise Walk, Yuzhong District, the VASAKOI Ice Rink in Wanzhou District, the Aegean Euyue Ice Rink in Liangjiang New Area, and the Daying Ice Rink at New Century Plaza, Yubei District. A total of ten ski resorts (venues) have been completed: the Chongqing Nantianhu International Ski Resort, the Wulong Xiannvshan Indoor and Outdoor Ski Resorts, the Wuxi Hongchipu International Ski Resort, the Shizhu Lengshui Let’s Go Amusement World, the Yunyang Longgang Ski Resort, the Fengjie Maocaoba Ski Resort, the Nanchuan Jinfo Mountain West Slope Ski Resort, the Wansheng Nantianmen Ice and Snow World, the Nanchuan Jinfo Mountain Aoyue Ski Resort, and the Jihua Park Indoor Ski Venue. Our city will intensify the construction of ice and snow sports facilities, fully utilize the alpine snow and ice resources of northeastern and southeastern Chongqing, and create distinctive municipal-level ice and snow industry bases focused on competitive performances and fitness and leisure—building 3 to 5 such bases centered around “three mountains, three plateaus, and one lake.”
The purpose of this event is to draw the attention of our city’s residents to the development of ice and snow sports, ignite public enthusiasm for participation, promote mass-oriented ice and snow activities, advance the integrated development of “sports + tourism,” support the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and contribute to the goal of engaging 300 million people in winter sports. Leveraging the momentum of this ice and snow sports season, we will continue to vigorously promote ice and snow culture and Olympic spirit, encourage more people to take part in ice and snow activities, and share joy, improve fitness, and gain health through winter sports.