As a foundational event in winter sports, cross-country skiing features as many as 10 events at the Winter Games, with competition primarily between the provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin.
       In the men’s events, Harbin athlete Sun Qinghai shows strength in the sprint distance—he ranked 21st at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, which is the best result ever achieved by a Chinese male in this event. Xu Wenlong once won the gold medal in the men’s freestyle 50km at the 11th Winter Games, and it remains to be seen if he can defend his title this time. In contrast, focus in the women’s events is mainly on long-distance races. Harbin’s Li Hongxue, who secured third place in the women’s 5km at the 2011 Asian Winter Games, is expected to fight for the gold medal for the Harbin delegation.