Hoping to grab a piste of history

As anticipation builds for the 2025 Asian Winter Games, the Yabuli Ski Resort, 200 kilometers from downtown Harbin, is set to host the event's snow sports program, with hundreds of athletes from across Asia vying to finish on the highest step of their discipline's podium.

Scheduled to be contested between Feb 8 and 13, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing and the biathlon may not be among the most high-profile sports on the schedule, but the level of competition is incredibly high.

To prepare for the upcoming Asian Winter Games, the Yabuli Ski Resort has initiated a series of infrastructure upgrades, including a full overhaul of its ski slopes and snowmaking systems. These improvements cover key courses for alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and other snow sports.

In January, the Yabuli Ski Resort hosted a biathlon test event for the Asian Winter Games, in which athletes from China's national team and the Heilongjiang team competed.

Jiang Yang, team leader of China's biathlon team, confirmed that the country will field a squad of 12 athletes — six men and six women — for the Asian Winter Games, with four team members having previously competed at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Veteran athlete Tang Jialin is the only member of the team who participated in the previous Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan, in 2017.

China's biggest threat in the biathlon is Kazakhstan, while athletes from Japan and the Republic of Korea are also expected to challenge for medals.