On January 12, 2013, the 11th Red Bull Nanshan Open took place at Beijing Nanshan Ski Resort. Serving as the warm-up to Asia’s premier (WST five-star) snowboard freestyle competition, the qualifiers imposed no registration limits, allowing any rider to participate. The top six male finishers and the women’s champion secured spots in the Red Bull Nanshan Open finals, scheduled for January 19–20, where they will compete against 28 elite international riders from nine countries—including Finland, Sweden, the United States, and New Zealand—for a total prize purse of $65,000.
11th Red Bull Nanshan Open Qualifiers
The biggest breakthrough of this year’s event compared to previous editions was the inaugural women’s division. Zhu Hong, widely regarded as one of China’s strongest female riders, was heavily favored before the competition—and she lived up to expectations by winning the women’s qualifier. She became the first Chinese female rider to qualify for a WST five-star event.
Zhu Hong trained in halfpipe snowboarding at the Harbin Institute of Physical Education during university. After graduation, she worked as a ski instructor at resorts in Inner Mongolia and Beijing. Her accolades include first place in the 2010 TNF Backcountry Challenge snowboard division; third place in the finals of the 2011 Oakley Rookie Series Station 2; and first place in the 2011 Merrill Park “No Girls Allowed” Park Challenge.
Group photo of the award-winning champions and Red Bull ladies
Green Light Outdoor Network (Green Light) had the privilege of interviewing Zhu Hong after her championship win.
Green Light Outdoor Network (hereinafter referred to as Green Light): With the women’s division being introduced for the first time at this year’s Red Bull Nanshan Open, did you, as a female competitor, have additional considerations in terms of selecting trick difficulty during today’s qualifiers?
Zhu Hong: Stability came first. During the competition, I stuck to tricks I’ve practiced and felt confident about. I didn’t attempt anything uncertain because you only get one chance.
Green Light: I’ve read your profile—you’ve been injured while snowboarding before and resumed training less than a month later. What keeps your passion for snowboarding alive?
Zhu Hong: I wasn’t always into snowboarding. I only started getting interested in SLOPESTYLE (snowboard freestyle competition) last year. I find this style of riding very freeing—when I’m in good form, I can pull off high-difficulty tricks, and when I’m not, I stick to simpler moves I’ve practiced. Unlike my days on the sports team, where I had to ride regardless of how I felt, now I genuinely enjoy this format of competition, which motivates me to give it my all.
Green Light: Facing top riders from around the world in the finals on the 19th, do you have any specific plans for trick difficulty?
Zhu Hong: Of course, but right now, they’re just ideas—I’ll know for sure when I’m out there competing.
Women’s Champion Zhu Hong
Green Light: You also competed last year. Do you feel there’s any difference in the format or difficulty level between this year and last?
Wang Longsheng (Andrew): Yes, I competed last year too. The difference between this year and last is huge. Last year, doing two 360s was enough to make the finals, but this year, the minimum is a 720—and the overall difficulty is much higher.
Green Light: As a rider who’s participated in multiple Red Bull snowboard events, what do you think is the gap between China’s snowboarding scene and those in Europe and America?
Wang Longsheng (Andrew): The gap is significant. But China’s snowboarding is improving every year—you can see that from this competition alone, with tricks getting harder and more diverse year after year. I hope China’s snowboarding will continue to grow stronger in the future.
Green Light: Will you be attempting even harder tricks in the finals on the 19th?
Wang Longsheng (Andrew): Definitely. But I can’t reveal details yet—I’d hate to not pull them off.
Men’s Champion Wang Longsheng
Green Light: You also competed last year. Do you feel there’s any difference in the format or difficulty level between this year and last?
Bao Xiaoguo: Yes. Snowboard parks have been improving year by year, and the weather today was better than last year’s. We also went for harder tricks compared to last year.
Green Light: Do you feel any pressure going into the finals on the 19th? Will you be attempting harder tricks?
Bao Xiaoguo: No pressure. And yes, I’ll be doing harder tricks—harder than today’s. Since we’re still a bit behind some international riders, we’re aiming to push the difficulty even further.
Green Light: Any little tips you use in your daily practice? How can other snowboard enthusiasts ride as well as you guys?
Bao Xiaoguo: Snowboarding is like any other sport—it requires a gradual progression. Don’t be intimidated by the idea of it being an extreme sport and fear getting injured. Just practice and try moves within your ability.
Men’s Third Place Bao Xiaoguo
Green Field Outdoor Network also hopes these Chinese athletes will achieve great results in the Red Bull Nanshan Open on January 19th.