Chongqing - Though it seldom snows, people in Chongqing are no less enthusiastic about skiing than people in other cities. Feng Xianqiao and his son, Feng Shuyu, never failed to catch people’s eyes on the ski slopes.

The 13-year-old Feng Shuyu already has five years' skiing experience, whose skills always amaze many ski lovers.

On December 4, 2021, Feng Shuyu won sixth place in the public group of a national competition, achieving a breakthrough for Chongqing junior amateur snowboarders in the national competition.

"Skiing is really cool!" said the young man, who loves to take on difficult moves and always attracts people’s attention, "It hurts when I fall, but I'll start from where I failed."

Feng Shuyu’s love for skiing was influenced by his father, Feng Xianqiao, a professional athlete who started skiing in 2017.

"You can always challenge yourself to try different slopes and different difficulties. There are so many unknowns when skiing," said Feng Xianqiao.

With more and more children in Chongqing falling in love with skiing, Feng Xianqiao came up with the idea to learn the standard snowboarding teaching process. It could not only regulate his own technique but also provide professional guidance to others.

He managed to pass the Snowboard Instruction New Zealand (SBINZ) level one training course and national social sports instructor. His son would also help him to teach other children some simple movements.

When it comes to what skiing can bring to children, seeing his shy son become confident and happy while skiing, Feng Xianqiao thought it develops a sense of responsibility, willpower, and courage.

He is optimistic about the future of Chongqing's skiing sports. Chongqing has six skating rinks and nine ski resorts, and about 1.5 million people have taken part in ice sports in recent years.

Home to Thousands of Snowboarding Enthusiasts

According to Feng Xianqiao, it is roughly estimated that there are more than 2,000 snowboarding enthusiasts in Chongqing. Snowboarding is popular, especially with young people, who like the street culture and the sense of freedom brought by the sport.

With people's feet fixed on one board, snowboarding is more difficult than skiing with double boards, but numerous enthusiasts are willing to learn from the ground up.

Some enthusiasts think they have to practice skiing with double boards before learning snowboarding. "They don't have to do that," said Feng Xianqiao. They can learn snowboarding from the ground up as the techniques and feelings are different from skiing with double boards. Feng added, "Snowboarding is difficult to start but easier to progress once a person has mastered the basic skills."

The intern Mei Xuhang has attribution to this post.