On January 5, 2015, the 13th Red Bull Nanshan Open press conference took place at Nanshan Ski Resort in Beijing. As China’s only and Asia’s top-tier international snowboard slopestyle competition, the event will be held at the Mellow Park at Nanshan Ski Resort from January 17 to 18. Thirty-one riders from 12 countries, including seven Chinese athletes, will compete for a total prize purse of $50,000. At the press conference, Su Yiming, who plays “Little Shuanzi” in the blockbuster film “The Taking of Tiger Mountain” and is just 10 years old, effortlessly soared over a 12-meter jump. He Wui, the only Chinese rider directly qualified for the finals, and paragliding world champion Zhang Shupeng engaged in an exciting “ground-to-air” high-platform flying competition, showcasing the youthful, stylish, and free-spirited nature of snowboarding.
The press conference was hosted by Steve, known as the “Godfather of Chinese Snowboarding.” When he blew his gathering horn, paragliding world champion Zhang Shupeng and He Wui set off from the start slope and performed a stunning “double flight” combo on the big jump. This move requires an extremely high level of coordination—Zhang Shupeng’s paraglider speed is about 42 km/h, while He Wui’s snowboarding speed reaches 60 km/h. To achieve a simultaneous takeoff from the first jump, the paraglider had to dive and lift off the snowy slope before the snowboarder. Five seconds later, He Wui skied down and leapt off the big jump, executing a BS 360 method grab (a backside 360 with a front hand grab on the nose), while Zhang Shupeng’s paraglider flew just under one meter above the jump platform. Later, Zhang Shupeng landed precisely near the stage area, where He Wui arrived by snowboarding.
As one of China’s top snowboard slopestyle riders, He Wui, who is competing in the Red Bull Nanshan Open for the seventh time, will directly qualify for the finals. He achieved eighth place at the ninth Red Bull Nanshan Open in 2011, which remains the best result ever by a Chinese snowboarder. During the 2013–2014 “Air & Style” World Snowboard Championship held at the Bird’s Nest, He Wui successfully landed Double Cork 900s twice, drawing international attention within the snowboarding community.
At the press conference, a 10-year-old Chinese young rider captured everyone’s attention: Su Yiming from Jilin. Aside from being part of the post-2000 generation, his portrayal of Little Shuanzi in the film “The Taking of Tiger Mountain,” where he skis on simple twin tips and leads PLA soldiers through forests and snowfields, left a deep impression. However, in real life, “Little Shuanzi” prefers snowboarding. In January 2014, during the qualification round of the 12th Red Bull Nanshan Open, Su Yiming jumped off a 12-meter platform and performed aerial tricks, making a remarkable debut. This year, he returns for his second qualification attempt. At the press conference, Su Yiming also played a game of “hide-and-seek” with the host. During the Chinese riders’ introduction, he chose an alternative entrance—he sped down from the mountaintop, soared over the big jump midair, and then glided to the main stage, earning loud applause.
At the event, “Little Shuanzi” also revealed some behind-the-scenes tidbits about the cast, saying, “In the skiing scenes, they all used stunt doubles—only I did my own stunts.” Looking ahead to this year’s Red Bull Nanshan Open, Su Yiming stated he will challenge the biggest 12-meter jump in the qualifiers. “I plan to do a backside 720 on the first big jump!” This is the trick he has been perfecting in intensive training this year.
In addition, the press conference reviewed the history of the Red Bull Nanshan Open. Originally started by Chinese snowboarders as a gathering at the end of each ski season, the event evolved into an international top-tier competition. In 2007, Red Bull upgraded the event to a TTR 4-star competition. By 2012, it had risen to a TTR 5-star level, becoming one of the world’s premier snowboard events. Over the past 13 years, the Red Bull Nanshan Open has not only promoted the popularization and development of snowboarding in China and elevated the competitive level of local riders, but it has also developed its own unique traditions and culture, turning into an annual grand festival for domestic snowboarding enthusiasts.
“Everything happens spontaneously. We have participants and volunteers from all over the country, various snowboard clubs, and industry media—they never need motivation, as everyone is part of the event. The Red Bull Nanshan Open is not only the highest-level snowboarding competition in the world, but it’s also the festival we look forward to and a way of life that everyone loves,” said Huang Xuefeng, the event director.
Slopestyle is the most participatory, technically diverse, and visually exciting form of snowboarding competition. It became an official Winter Olympic event for the first time in 2014. Currently, global slopestyle competitions fall into two main systems: those organized by FIS (International Ski Federation) and TTR (Ticket to Ride World Snowboard Tour). Among them, TTR competitions offer higher prize money, greater influence, more innovative and diverse track designs and rules, and stronger appeal to professional riders.
Previously, the Red Bull Nanshan Open was a TTR-certified WST (World Snowboard Tour) 5-star event. Starting June 2014, TTR restructured the levels of its world snowboard tour, abolishing the previous star rating system and categorizing events from low to high as regional, national, international, and elite. The Red Bull Nanshan Open became the only TTR-certified international-level event in Asia. As there are no elite-level snowboard competitions in Asia, the Red Bull Nanshan Open is now the highest-level snowboarding event on the continent.
The Red Bull Nanshan Open course spans 350 meters and features two sets of jumps and several rail features. The first set of jumps has a maximum span of 15 meters, allowing athletes to perform aerial tricks with three or more rotations. The second set has a maximum span of 12 meters. If executed cleanly on the first jump, athletes still maintain enough speed to complete flips of two and a half rotations or more. The course also includes various obstacles such as containers, rails, and mini jumps. One highlight of this year’s event is a massive 3-meter-high ice wall at the end of the course, marking the first use of a large-scale ice feature in a TTR World Snowboard Tour competition.
This year’s competition attracted 24 top international riders from 11 countries, including the United States, Norway, Finland, Russia, and Japan. Among them are 2014 Sochi Olympic participants Charles Reid and Gjermund Braaten, Brandon Davis—a teammate of snowboarding legend Shaun White on the U.S. national team—and 2013 Red Bull Nanshan Open champion Jeremy Thompson. Norwegian 15-year-old rookie Marcus Kleveland, who started skiing at age 3 and landed a triple cork 1440 (three flips plus 1440-degree rotation) at age 13, holds the record for being the youngest rider to perform this trick in snowboarding history. On the domestic side, six Chinese riders will qualify for the finals along with He Wui through the qualification round scheduled for January 10.