HARBIN, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The success of Team China at the Harbin 2025 Asian Winter Games (AWG) underscored China's commitment to both competitive excellence and the promotion of winter sports nationwide, said Wang Lei, director of China's Winter Sports Management Center.

The Harbin AWG saw China's largest-ever delegation, with a record 170 athletes competing in all 64 events. According to Wang, athletes come from a variety of regions - including traditional northern strongholds such as Heilongjiang, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia, as well as emerging areas like Shanghai, Guangdong, and Xizang.

"We are cultivating athletes from a broader range of regions across China, gradually strengthening our competitive base," Wang noted.

The expanded talent pool has helped China improve its performance in both traditional events, such as speed skating - where the nation secured 11 gold medals out of 14 events - and newer disciplines like ski mountaineering, which is set to make its Olympic debut at Milan-Cortina 2026.

With one day remaining before the closing ceremony, China sits firmly atop the medal tally with 32 gold, 26 silver, and 24 bronze medals - its best record in the history of the Games.

"We regard this Asian Winter Games as an important opportunity to refine our teams, cultivate talent, and accumulate experience ahead of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The composition of our delegation here essentially determines our core lineup for Milan," Wang explained.

"We will use these competitions as opportunities to sharpen our skills, identify weaknesses, and improve our methods, further elevating China's overall level in winter sports."

China's performance in Harbin was marked by both seasoned champions and rising stars. Established athletes such as Olympic champions Gao Tingyu and Xu Mengtao continued to dominate, while young talents like Liu Mengting made their mark by winning double gold from freestyle skiing slopestyle and big air.

"It gives us confidence in the continuous high-quality development of China's competitive winter sports and in the path and model of cultivating athletic talent in our competitive sports," he said.

As China sets its sights on the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Wang acknowledged that, despite impressive progress in winter sports, there is still work to be done.

"We have thoroughly analyzed our gaps and shortcomings, and we are determined to learn from the excellent performance of China's summer athletes at the Paris Olympics, especially in terms of teamwork and perseverance. We will continue to enhance our training systems, prepare rigorously, and improve the overall competitiveness of winter sports in China," Wang said.

Beyond the competitive arena, public participation in winter sports has surged across China. Since the Beijing Winter Olympics, winter sports have flourished nationwide, with more people getting involved. According to Wang, over 313 million people, or approximately 22 percent of China's population, had participated in winter sports by April 2024.

This surge reflects a broadening appeal of winter sports beyond northern regions into other parts of the country, where the sports are becoming increasingly popular. "The legacy of the Beijing Winter Olympics is being fully utilized, with a broader population engaging in winter sports, more diverse events being held, and easier access to participation," Wang underlined.

The growing enthusiasm is also evident in the increasing number of ice and snow sports venues nationwide. By 2023, China had over 2,800 winter sports venues - an increase of 16.1 percent from the previous year. In regions like Xinjiang and Sichuan, winter sports tourism is booming, further fueling national passion. The culture and tourism ministry predicts nationwide revenue of 720 billion yuan (about 98 billion U.S. dollars) from winter sports tourism by the end of 2025.

"Winter sports have not only become an important driver in building a healthy China, but also a new engine for promoting balanced regional economic development and fostering the integration of culture, sports, and tourism," Wang said. Enditem