Chinese schools ushering in winter sports

Guan Zizhao and some other students of the Zhongguancun No 2 Primary School were practicing ice hockey at Beijing's Wukesong sports complex on Feb 24 when they saw President Xi Jinping walking into the rink. The children ran toward him excitedly.

"He (Xi) shook our hands. He also gave me a shoulder nudge (greetings typically exchanged by players when they score)," Guan, 9, said.

On an inspection tour of the complex that will be used as a venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics, to be jointly hosted by Beijing and Zhangjiakou, North China's Hebei province, Xi told the children that he hoped to see some of them play for the country someday.