As the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games approach, an event for international youth to enjoy winter sports was held in Beijing on Friday, bringing together about 60 students from 16 countries.
Organized by China Center for International Communication Development, the event provided a platform for Chinese and foreign students to share their excitement about the Games and exchange their understandings about the Olympic spirit. About 60 Chinese and foreign students gathered at the Tus-ice&snow Sports Center in Beijing's Shijingshan district to experience curling, ice hockey, and other winter sports in an effort to explore the charm of the Games.
At the event, Lu Cairong, vice president of China International Communications Group (CICG) said in his speech that the Beijing Winter Olympics is both a sporting and a cultural event as well as a platform for multi-cultural communication and integration. With the event as a platform for dialogue and exchange, he hoped that more and more young Chinese and foreigners would participate in winter sports and enjoy the dynamic and vibrancy of Beijing 2022.
Chen Shi, deputy editor-in-chief of CICG, said in her speech that the event provides an opportunity for Chinese and foreign youth to deepen exchanges through winter sports. She also hoped that the youth play their due role in promoting exchanges through mutual learning and make their contributions to build a community with a shared future.
Li Jiajun, China's first world champion in men's short-track speed skating, also shared his experiences with the Chinese and foreign students. While recalling the painstaking yet steady steps taken to develop winter sports in China, he said that in the 1980s, China had only two indoor ice rinks. Thanks to Beijing 2022, winter sports have grown rapidly in recent years. China now has 654 standard ice rinks and 803 indoor and outdoor ski resorts, he said.
Statistics from China's National Bureau of Statistics show that over 346 million Chinese people have participated in winter sports activities since Beijing's successful bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics in 2015.
Therefore, China's commitment to engage 300 million people in winter sports has already become a reality, according to a survey.
Donatien Niyonzima, a student from Rwanda who is now studying at Minzu University of China, appreciated that this event provided an invaluable opportunity for him to enjoy the fun of winter sports and learn more about Beijing 2022.
He believed that this Winter Olympics would contribute to the building of a peaceful and better world by educating many youths like him through sports. He said that he is overwhelmed by the spirit of friendship, solidarity, mutual understanding, and fair play, which this Olympics is promoting without any discrimination. What impressed him most is the inclusiveness by which people from all walks of life are allowed to compete regardless of their political views and disparities.
Merna Ghassan Al Nasser, a Jordanian student at Renmin University of China, shared her understanding of the motto for the 2022 Winter Olympics. She said that "Together" depicts how mankind stays strong in the face of adversity and finds ways to overcome those difficulties, and "For a shared future" embodies a vision for a better life and conveys hope and confidence. In her understanding, the motto is a universal goal toward unity, peace, progress, and inclusiveness.
