Amateur ski lovers wave flags during the closing ceremony of the 13th National Winter Games held at the Silk Road ski resort in Urumqi, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, on Saturday. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

The 13th National Winter Games concluded in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region over the weekend with a grand outdoor closing ceremony held at the Silk Road ski resort in the regional capital Urumqi.

It was the biggest event in the history of Chinese winter games, with 1,388 sportspeople participating from 52 delegations including Beijing, Harbin, Hong Kong and Macao. The event was an opportunity to boost interest in winter sports during the country's build-up to the 2022 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Beijing and Zhangjiakou, North China's Hebei Province.

The high-standard ice arenas in Xinjiang impressed the speed skating, figure skating and ice hockey athletes, and the national women's ice hockey team are considering moving to Xinjiang for training in their preparation for the upcoming world championships that will be held in Turin, Italy this year, according to Yu Tiande, secretary general of Chinese Ice Hockey Association.

This was the first winter games held outside of China's three northeastern provinces, which was seen as an opportunity to shake off Xinijang's image of social instability and promote the region as a scenic and hospitable tourist destination.

Since the successful bid for Beijing and Zhangjiakou to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, winter sports in China have gained unprecedented government support, with the authorities aiming to get "300 million people on ice."

The 14th National Winter Games will be held in Hulunber in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 2020.

Global Times

Performers wear traditional skiing outfits and fur skis at the closing ceremony. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

Middle school students from Urumqi perform gymnastic exercises on the snow. Photo: CFP

Men and women in traditional costumes perform Uyghur dancing during the ceremony. Photo: CFP
 

Primary school children pose with footballs during the closing ceremony. Photo: CFP

Newspaper headline: Warm farewell