Editor's notes: In the past, China was strong in ice but relatively weak in snow events. Before the 24th Olympic Winter Games, of China's 13 Olympic golds, only one came from snow sports. However, Beijing 2022, held from Feb 4 to 20, has played host to multiple achievements by Team China on the snow.
When Beijing won its Winter Olympics bid in 2015, about one-third of the events had never been held in the country. However, 177 Chinese athletes managed to compete in 104 of 109 events in 15 disciplines across seven sports.
China ranks third at the medal table at Beijing 2022 with nine gold, four silver and two bronze medals, among which five golds, three silvers, and one bronze were won in snow sports, the country's best record at the Games.
But breakthroughs are not only measured by medal counts. Managing to compete in the Games is its own achievement.
Freestyle skiing
Freestyle skiing talent Gu Ailing bagged two golds and one silver for host China in the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe, big air, and slopestyle respectively at Beijing 2022.
The gold medal won by Gu in big air on Feb 8 was the second gold grabbed by China in snow sports at the Winter Olympics.
Han Xiaopeng claimed the freestyle skiing aerial gold medal at the 2006 Turin Olympics.
China, a powerhouse in free ski aerials, waited 16 years to win its second Olympic gold when veteran free skier Xu Mengtao, a four-time Olympian and runner-up at Sochi 2014, fulfilled her dream of winning an Olympic gold in the women's aerials at Beijing 2022 on Feb 14.
This was China's first Olympic gold in women's aerials.
Chinese free skier Qi Guangpu grabbed the men's aerials gold in his fourth Olympic appearance at the Games.
Qi's victory was also the third all-time Olympic gold for the Chinese freeski aerials team.
Skier Zhao Yang took a bold first step when he made China's Olympic debut in the freestyle skiing men's moguls event on Feb 5, although he failed to qualify for the finals of the competition.
"I feel very happy, and I'm honored to be here. My dream to compete at the Olympics has come true. That's all I can ask. I think I tried my best in the competition," Zhao said.
"The Chinese men's moguls team made great progress but still has a long way to go. I believe the team will become much stronger in the future. I will keep training and look forward to the next Winter Olympics," Zhao added.
Once an Alpine skier, Zhao took up freestyle skiing moguls in 2008.
Chinese teenage sensation Su Yiming claimed the Olympic gold medal in the men's snowboard Big Air with a stylish show, adding to his silver medal in the slopestyle event.
The Chinese team in the snowboard U-shaped field skills event at the Winter Olympics achieved full participation. Four men and four women participated in the competition.
China's No 1 Cai Xuetong and PyeongChang 2018 silver medalist Liu Jiayu finished fourth and eighth apiece in the women's halfpipe.
With a combined score of 160.00 points in the last two runs, China's Rong Ge ended fifth, making breakthrough for China in the women's big air.
Alpine Skiing
As the only Asian face in the alpine skiing women's all-around competition, Chinese player Kong Fanying successfully finished the competition and came in 15th place, the best Olympic result by Team China in this event.
The 25-year-old is the first Chinese athlete to complete the women's downhill race at the Winter Olympics, and one of the rare skiers in this competition to have raced in four individual events — downhill, super-G, slalom and giant slalom.
At this Winter Olympics, Kong was one of the athletes from the Chinese delegation participating in the most events. She participated in the downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super giant slalom, five all-around individual contests and mixed team competition.
At Beijing 2022, female athletes Kong Fanying and Ni Yueming, and male athletes Xu Mingfu and Zhang Yangming participated in the discipline. Before the 24th Olympic Winter Games, China had only competed in alpine skiing at six Winter Olympics, and each time only one male and one female athlete took part.
Xu Mingfu made history at Beijing 2022 on Feb 7 by becoming the first Chinese competitor to finish an Olympic downhill competition.
The 24-year-old eventually ranked 36th with a time of 1:56.93, and although he was well off the pace at the top of the leaderboard — Switzerland's Beat Feuz clocked a winning time of 1:42.69 — Xu was still delighted with his performance on "The Rock", the course at the National Alpine Skiing Centre.
"For me, simply being able to finish the competition means I have passed the test," said Xu, adding "I had never hit a speed of 100 km/h during the Olympics" .
Xu believes his breakthrough at Beijing 2022 will help usher in a bright future for Chinese alpine skiing.
"Definitely, our future will be better and better, as we have made the first step, and we will have more chances to improve ourselves," he said.
Ski Jumping
Due to its late start in the sport, China had only competed in ski jumping during two previous Winter Olympics.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese athletes set a record in the number of ski jumping events participated. This was also the first time for China to have both male and female athletes participating in the Games at the same time.
"Most of us picked up ski jumping less than four years ago. Standing on the Olympic hill is an honor for each of us," said Song Qiwu, who trained for the 110m hurdles before December 2018.
Dong Bing of China, the 31st in the first round of women's normal hill individual, registered the best performance among Chinese ski jumpers at Beijing 2022, but failed to step into the final round that featured top 30.
"I was so close to the final. I tried my best, but I still need to learn from world top ski jumpers and improve myself in the future," Dong said.
The 17-year-old Peng Qingyue is the youngest Chinese ski jumper at Beijing 2022 and finished 38th in women's normal hill individual.
"The Beijing Winter Olympics is a start for me, and I will strive for the next Olympics and aim to fly further," Peng said.
Cross country skiing
Considerable progress has been made by the Chinese team in cross-country skiing. China competed in all cross-country skiing events during the Games, and also achieved the best result of the country in Winter Olympics during many events.
In the women's 4x5km relay event, China crossed the line in 10th place with a time of 57:49:7. Chi Chunxue, Li Xin, Bayani Jialin and Ma Qinghua achieved the team's best result in the history of the Winter Olympics.
In the cross-country skiing men's 15km + 15km skiathlon, Liu Rongsheng ranked 38th in 1:24:59.6, becoming the best finisher of China at this event during the Games.
In the men's 7.5km x7.5km skiathlon, Shang Jincai and Liu Rongsheng broke into the top 50, winning 41st and 47th place respectively, the best result of team China in the event during the Winter Olympics .
Nordic Combined
When Zhao Jiawen, who lit the cauldron at the opening ceremony with Dinigeer Yilamujiang, stood on the starting point of the Olympic Nordic combined on Feb 9, it was a triumph for Team China as the country had never been represented in the event at the Olympics before.
Zhao's ski jumping competition in the Nordic combined started on the afternoon of Feb 9. He was the ninth to enter the arena. Zhao jumped 81 meters, ranking 42nd with 59 points.
After a three-hour rest, Zhao continued to compete in the cross-country skiing on the evening of the same day. He finished the race in 33 minutes and 29.8 seconds and ranked 43rd among all 44 contestants.
Although Zhao did not get good scores on the two competitions, netizens encouraged him.
"This is a breakthrough for China's winter sports event, and Zhao Jiawen is just 21 years old. He and the team have unlimited possibilities," a Sina Weibo user said.
Zhao started with cross-country skiing in 2015, but in 2016 his coach became the national Nordic combined coach, and persuaded him to try the sport.
"I really like the feeling of flying. To move in the air, to feel the different currents, it's pure excitement. Those moments in the sky are the most precious to me," he said in July 2020.
Nordic combined has been contested at the Winter Olympics since the first Winter Games in 1924. It is the only Winter Games sport with no female event. As 99 different men have won an Olympic medal in Nordic combined, the first new Nordic combined medalist at Beijing 2022 will be No 100.
Luge
Although the Olympic podium remains out of reach for China's luge team, the nation's budding young riders are already aiming for more breakthroughs after proving their potential at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
"China is a latecomer to luge, and compared with the traditional powerhouses such as Germany and Austria, we have been involved in the sport for a very short time," said Chinese luge team captain Fan Duoyao.
"These strong teams have years of experience and boast elite athletes and coaching systems. Team China should be focused on working toward such standards.
"The future is full of challenges and uncertainties for our young team, but we will become stronger and stronger. All my teammates just need to believe in themselves and do their best."
The four young Chinese lugers, Fan Duoyao, Huang Yebo, Peng Junyue, and Wang Peixuan, competed in all four disciplines of the sport at Beijing 2022 — doubles, team relay, and men's and women's singles. China's best result at the National Sliding Centre was a 12th-place finish.
"When we established the team in 2015, our athletes had zero background in the sport, and we have had limited time competing in Europe. And when we started to train, we could not start at the Olympic standard, as it was too advanced for us. We could only start from easier sections of the course and from there grew step by step," said Wang Zhonglin, team leader of the Chinese luge squad.
All four members of China's Beijing 2022 luge team were plucked from other sports. Captain Fan was a cross-country skier, doubles luger Huang Yebo was a sprinter, and women's luger Wang Peixuan was a javelin thrower.
"We've been through a lot from 2015 until today. We've overcome a lot of challenges, everyone's worked hard and we hope we can keep improving and take China's luge to the world," said Fan, who last November became the first Chinese male athlete to race in the Luge World Cup.
"Although we started later, we're catching up. We are not only fighting for ourselves, we represent the nation at the Olympics and we are fighting for all the people who helped and supported us," he added.
The 21-year-old Wang Peixuan is the first female Chinese luger to compete at the Olympics. Despite failing to reach the final run of the women's singles, Wang says Beijing 2022 has been an invaluable experience for her.
"I set a personal best in the third run. If I hadn't suffered fractures in my foot, I might have been able to achieve a better result," said Wang Peixuan, who broke her left foot in three places in a competition in December last year, sidelining her for two weeks.
"By the next Games, there will be new breakthroughs. The Chinese team will have improved a lot more by then," said Wang.
Skeleton
Despite having barely seven years' experience on the sliding track, China's young riders have taken the skeleton world by storm at Beijing 2022.
China's biggest sliding success story was Yan Wengang, who fended off elite opponents to claim bronze in the men's skeleton and earn the host its first Olympic medal in any sliding sport.
The 24-year-old clocked 4 min 01.77 sec at the National Sliding Centre in Yanqing, and another young Chinese star Yin Zheng also delighted the home fans with a fifth-place finish.
The bronze marked only the second time that someone not from Europe or North America has stood on the Olympic skeleton podium.
"This medal should make China very confident in its skeleton future. We do have the ability to be competitive," said Yan at a news conference on Feb 13.
In the women's skeleton on Feb 12, Zhao Dan was the best-placed Chinese finisher in ninth, with Li Yuxi 14th — results that left their legendary Austrian coach Andreas Schmid more than pleased.
"We should never forget the great performance of the Chinese girls. What they have achieved is huge. People tend to focus on the boys. What I have observed from the girls is that they have huge potential and room for improvement," Schmid told reporters.
"Looking at their performances right now, we are surprised at their high level, " Schmid said, adding that "I think it's a great opportunity to say it loud and clear that they have given a strong message to the young generation and also women in this country to succeed in sports."
The country's skeleton squad was only established in 2015, and the country's previous Olympic best in the sport was Geng Wenqiang's 13th-place finish at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
"Our team is very young. We only started to build our team in 2015 when we barely had any idea what skeleton is actually about," said team leader Sun Fan.
"We have experienced fast growth over the past few years, especially after the 2018 Winter Olympics. With the help of our head coach, the strength of our athletes has been developing fast, and that's why we can show our Chinese speed at the Beijing Winter Olympics."
