Born in 1988 and standing just 1.55 meters tall, Zhu Hong may seem like an unremarkable young woman, but she has a well-known nickname in China’s snowboarding scene: “Sister Hong.” A native of the northeast, Zhu didn’t start skiing until the winter of 2003, when she was already 15. In 2002, she entered the Competitive Sports School of Harbin Institute of Physical Education, and two years later became a university student there.
After becoming a university student, she chose speed skating as her major, but around that time the school began recruiting students internally for its snowboarding program, and Zhu was selected. Prior to that, she had never even heard of snowboarding, and to this day she still vividly remembers her first experience with it. “It was all about falling — I rolled down the mountain from top to bottom, my whole body ached, and the next day I couldn’t even get up. I had no idea what snowboarding was at the time, and I was really scared.”
Like most people, after choosing snowboarding, Zhu started practicing in the halfpipe. In early 2011, at China’s first Extreme Freeride Snow Challenge, she leveraged her solid skills from the halfpipe discipline to become the women’s snowboarding champion. That victory made the nickname “Sister Hong” instantly famous. Despite winning the championship, Zhu felt that the halfpipe event was a more systematic discipline, so she decided to leave it behind and try freestyle instead.
“I prefer freestyle competitions because they feel more free. When I don’t want to do it, I don’t force myself. When I’m in good form, I can add difficulty on my own, and when I’m not feeling great, I can just take a break.” In 2011, Zhu participated in the Oakley Rookie Challenge during the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Cup — the event remains her most memorable competition. “I was super nervous. I’d never had so many people watching me compete before, and there were so many international riders — I was the only girl. Actually, I really wanted to watch them ride.”
With the addition of a women’s division in this year’s snowboarding open, Zhu Hong also has the chance to become the first Chinese female snowboarder to compete in a World Snowboard Tour event. But first, she must pass the domestic qualifying round on January 12 of next year. Zhu treasures this rare opportunity. “Because there aren’t any high-level competitions like this in China right now. If I can make it to the finals and compete against the world’s best, I’ll be really happy.” Zhu is right — if she advances to the finals, she will face some of the biggest names in the global snowboarding scene, including “big shots” like Hannah, who has finished in the top ten in every competition she’s entered for the past ten consecutive years, and legendary snowboarding star Leanne, who has placed in the top three in every event she’s competed in since 2004.
After graduating from university in 2008, Zhu Hong now works in sales at Cold Mountain Gear at Nanshan Ski Resort. Outside of work, she dedicates her time from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, to skiing. Nearly a decade of snowboarding life has brought Zhu a lot of joy. “Snowboarding has become a huge part of my life — I’m pretty much on the slopes all year round,” says Zhu.