He is the first generation of skier in New China and has not “retired” at the age of 83

He is the first generation of skier in New China, and he has not “retired” at the age of 83.

Xinhua News Agency, Changchun, November 15 (Reporters Wang Haofei, Zhou Wanpeng, Wang Fan, Xu Chang) Shan Zhaojian, born in Tonghua, Jilin, is the first generation of ski athletes in New China and the first national ski champion in New China. The 83-year-old is known as the “father of Chinese skiing”, but he is more accustomed to being a “non-retired veteran”.

Since joining the professional training team at the age of 16, Shan Zhaojian seems to be a “perpetual motion machine” that helps the development of China’s ice and snow industry. His discovery helped Advocate Li change from an obscure town to a ski resort; his search has found a new answer to the origin of human skiing.

On the 80-day countdown to the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Shan Zhaojian said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency that he looked forward to the glory of Chinese ice and snow on the world stage.

The promotion of ice and snow comes from enjoying ice and snow. Tonghua City is located in the Changbai Mountains. In winter, the forest and the snowy plains are so beautiful. In the 1940s, Shan Zhaojian galloped in this pristine snowy field. At that time, his equipment was not snowboards and poles, but worn iron washbasins and straw sandals after watering and freezing. “The straw soles will freeze your feet if they wear out, but they still play as usual. At that time, there was an unspeakable love for snow.” He recalled.

In 1954, in response to the call of the State Sports Commission to “extensively develop ice and snow sports” in the mountains and snowy areas of the three northeastern provinces at that time, Tonghua and other places formed a ski training team. The 16-year-old Shan Zhaojian became the first group of skiers. Although the material was scarce at that time, athletes had to make their own ski boards for training, and they had to squeeze in the bungalows at night, but Shan Zhaojian did not complain about this, and was determined to be famous.

Three years later, Shan Zhaojian wore a pair of thick long trousers and won the first ski championship in New China. In February 1957, the first National Skiing Games was held in Tonghua. At that time, there was a limit of three for each athlete. The 19-year-old Shan Zhaojian won the men’s cross-country skiing 5km, 10km and team relay three events in one fell swoop. He said that wearing thick long trousers at that time was mainly to reduce the burden on the body, and winning the championship further inspired his fighting spirit to develop a life of ice and snow.

Two years later, Shan Zhaojian won two gold medals in cross-country skiing at the Winter Games two years later. He also tried ski jumping and became a “pathfinder” in the two Nordic sports in China. However, lacking professional “nourishment”, he quickly tasted the pain of overdraft. Successive injuries forced him to bid farewell to his career as an athlete at the age of 24.

“I am a skier. I have suffered hardships and broken bones. I don’t regret it.” Shan Zhaojian said that bidding farewell to an athlete’s career does not mean dreaming of retirement. He held up the coach and brought out a group of skiers. After that, he successively served as the secretary-general of the China Ski Association, the leader of the Chinese ski team, and the director of the technical department of the Asian Biathlon Ski Alliance, spreading the fire of China’s ice and snow sports and ice and snow culture to a wider range of people and more people.

In 1995, 57-year-old Shan Zhaojian made a “major discovery” among the mountains of Chongli. “There is a lot of snow, more than 20 cm thick in a single snowfall, and the slope of the mountain is good, which is very suitable for snow sports.” He said that skiing needs a market, and Chongli is less than 300 kilometers away from Beijing. Under his promotion, Chongli’s first ski resort came into being, and the mass skiing market here has gradually grown under the spark effect. The transformation of Chongli into a skiing destination has become a favorable condition for Beijing to successfully bid for the Winter Olympics.

After retiring, Shan Zhaojian still did not choose to “retire”. He devoted most of his energy to the study of ski history and culture. He wanted to tell the world the unique Chinese ice and snow story.

From the capital to the northwestern border, Shan Zhaojian started his research road for more than ten years and wrote “A Record of the Research History of China’s Xinjiang Altay Region as the Earliest Origin of Human Skiing”. In 2015, more than 30 ski history research experts from 18 countries and regions including Norway, Sweden, and Finland jointly issued the “Altai Declaration”, declaring that Altay is the oldest ski area in the world.

That year was also the year when the International Olympic Committee announced that the 2022 Winter Olympics would settle in Beijing. Shan Zhaojian, who returned to the capital from the frontier, has one more reason not to “retire”-to continue to promote ice and snow sports and promote the culture of the Winter Olympics.

On October 25, 2021, Jin Lin, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Jilin Institute of Physical Education, awarded Shan Zhaojian (right), the veteran of Chinese skiing, a letter of appointment as the honorary dean of the Ice and Snow Industry College of Jilin Institute of Physical Education.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Chang

In 2018, Shan Zhaojian was awarded the “World Ski History Research Lifetime Achievement Award” by the International Ski History Association (ISHA), becoming the first person in China and even Asia to receive this honor.

Launching ice and snow knowledge lectures and devoting to campus ice and snow public welfare… Today, Shan Zhaojian, who has passed his old age, is still active in the front line of China’s ice and snow business. He formulated an “Eighth Five-Year Plan” for himself, which is to continue to pour energy for the inheritance and development of Chinese skiing culture between the ages of 80 and 85.

In 2018, the International Ski History Association awarded Shan Zhaojian the “Lifetime Achievement Award for Ski History and Culture Research”.

“‘Driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports‘ is not an absolute value in mathematics. We need to drive more people to participate in ice and snow sports through the holding of the Winter Olympics.” Shan Zhaojian said, looking forward to the success of the Beijing Winter Olympics. After the event, China’s ice and snow culture, ice and snow sports, ice and snow equipment, ice and snow industry and other fields have blossomed everywhere, and China’s ice and snow can flourish on the world stage.