Urumqi, the capital of China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is poised to become the epicenter of winter sports development as it prepares to host the National Youth Winter Games from January 28 to February 1. The event will showcase young athletic talent across five disciplines: figure skating, speed skating, 3-on-3 ice hockey, snowboard slalom, and cross-country skiing.
This competition forms part of the broader ‘Happy Run’ initiative, a national fitness program launched in 2021 through collaboration between China’s General Administration of Sport, the Ministry of Education, and other institutions. The program aims to promote physical activity among children and adolescents nationwide.
Official registration data reveals significant participation, with 862 young athletes and 140 coaches from across China set to compete. Jiang Qingguo, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Sport’s youth sports division, announced these figures during a January 8 press conference in Urumqi.
Xinjiang has strategically invested in winter sports infrastructure and development in recent years. Aert, Director of the Regional Sports Bureau, emphasized that the games will demonstrate Xinjiang’s advanced sports facilities and services while simultaneously boosting winter tourism, sports training programs, and equipment sales.
The region has witnessed remarkable growth in youth participation. During Xinjiang’s inaugural ‘snow break’ for primary and secondary students from December 1-5, Urumqi’s six major ski resorts recorded approximately 61,000 student visits. The Silkroad Mountain Resort experienced particularly high demand, with daily attendance reaching 20,000 visitors and nighttime attendance doubling compared to previous periods. In Altay Prefecture, ski resorts reported over 21,000 student visits, with about 16,000 students enrolling in skiing or snowboarding lessons.
Xinjiang’s institutional approach includes designating 213 schools as winter sports specialty institutions. Among these, Miaoergou Middle School in Shuixigou Town has pioneered the region’s first regular high school winter sports program since 2024. The program currently enrolls 72 students across two cohorts who balance standard academic coursework with professional training in speed skating, ice hockey, alpine skiing, snowboarding, and cross-country skiing. Six students have already advanced to train with regional professional teams.
The program’s innovative structure allows students to pursue both academic and athletic excellence. Gu Xinxiang, the school’s Vice-Principal, noted that this balanced approach has received enthusiastic support from both students and parents.
Bi Xihao, a 15-year-old speed skater training with the Xinjiang team, exemplifies this dual-path success. In just over a year, he has reduced his 500-meter time from 41 seconds to 37.8 seconds. Based full-time at the Xinjiang Winter Sports Training Center in Shuixigou Town, Bi maintains his academic studies through online evening classes in mathematics and English, supplemented by independent study of history and Chinese literature.
The Training Center itself offers world-class facilities, situated at 1,650 meters above sea level—making it one of the world’s highest-altitude ice rinks. Li Shunyi, Deputy Director of the center’s venue management office, explained that the rink features precision-controlled ice with low friction characteristics. The subplateau environment and dry climate combine to create optimal training conditions.
Han Fang, a coach with the Xinjiang speed skating team, confirmed that the center’s advanced facilities and altitude advantage have produced demonstrable competitive results. The program’s success is further evidenced by three athletes currently training with the national team for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.