HONG KONG – Sports experts praise Hong Kong’s rapid advancements in winter sports, despite its subtropical environment, as the city’s athletes made their mark at the opening ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin on Friday.

The Hong Kong, China delegation participating in the eight-day Harbin Games is the largest ever, with 74 Hong Kong athletes competing in various events, including skiing, curling, ice hockey, figure skating, short-track speed skating, and speed skating.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and his wife, Janet Lee Lam Lai-sim, attended the opening ceremony, held at the Harbin International Conference, Exhibition and Sports Center on Friday evening, following a welcome banquet hosted by President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan.

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In a statement, Lee expressed his wishes for the Games’ success while hoping that the Hong Kong, China delegation can achieve brilliant results and that the athletes per form their best on the field and enjoy every competition.

Short-track speed skater Lam Ching-yan and Alpine skier Adrian Yung Hau-tsuen carried Hong Kong’s regional flag during the athletes’ parade at the ceremony.

Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, chef de mission of the Hong Kong, China delegation and vice-president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, commended Lam and Yung as representatives of a new generation that is excelling on the global stage.

Lam won two gold medals and one silver at the 2024 Asian Open Short Track Speed Skating Trophy in Indonesia, followed by a bronze in the women’s 500-meter at the ISU Junior World Cup in Italy.

Yung, the first male Alpine skier from Hong Kong to qualify for a Winter Olympics in 2022, earned a silver in slalom and a bronze in giant slalom at the Junior Asian Alpine Ski Championships in Northeast China’s Jilin province in March.

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“Their selection demonstrates that Hong Kong, despite being a ‘snowless city’, can nurture world class winter athletes,” Fok said.

The Harbin Games also mark the debut of Hong Kong’s curling team in international multisport competitions.

Emerging strengths

Patrick Lau Wing-chung, associate academy director of the Academy of Wellness and Human Development at Hong Kong Baptist University, views curling and short track speed skating competitions as key opportunities for Hong Kong.

“Short-track speed skating has a strong tradition in Hong Kong, with athletes participating in the Winter Olympics since 2014,” he said.

Although the curling team was formed later, it has made rapid progress through training alongside the national team.

Lau said that over the past four decades, Hong Kong has transformed ice sports from a “middleclass pastime” into a competitive force on the international stage.

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Since 2000, interest in ice and snow sports has surged as residents’ disposable incomes have increased.

The national initiative to “engage 300 million people in ice and snow sports” in preparation for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics has further fueled enthusiasm for these activities.

Looking ahead, Lau stressed the importance of regional cooperation. “The high-speed rail and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge have made it possible for part-time athletes to train at world-class facilities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area on Fridays and return to work in Hong Kong by Sunday.”

Hong Kong Ski Association of China Chairman Yu Guoxian said that currently, Hong Kong’s skiing athletes are mostly trained at locations in Austria, Japan, and France.

He said he hopes that training can be held on the Chinese mainland when suitable, and that exchanges with mainland counterparts will be bolstered.

Despite the rapid growth in ice sports, Lobo Louie Hung-tak, a sports scholar at the Education University of Hong Kong and a member of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau’s Sports Commission, highlighted critical gaps, including the absence of public ice rinks, which limits broader participation and training opportunities.

“Sports development thrives on a strong community foundation,” he said, adding that he welcomes the curling team’s debut but that the need for increased investment in facilities and public engagement must be considered a priority.

“Without widespread participation, identifying elite talent and achieving international success becomes challenging.”

Louie linked the size of the delegation to a growing interest in winter sports across the Greater Bay Area, a trend likely to enhance the regional sports economy.

Harbin, known as “Ice City”, has leveraged its frigid winters — where temperatures can plunge to -30 C — to foster a booming winter tourism industry. He said that greater crossborder travel for training and activities on the mainland could accelerate youth development and popularize winter sports in Hong Kong.

More support expected

Since first participating in the Winter Asian Games in 1999, the Hong Kong, China team has yet to secure a medal. Fok described the Games as a unique opportunity for athletes to compete against top-level competitors at Asia’s largest winter multi-sport event.

However, Lau emphasized the need for institutional reforms: “To elevate Hong Kong’s ice and snow sports, we must support athletes transitioning from part-time to fulltime status. Achieving breakthroughs at major competitions will bolster our confidence in securing government resources for coaching and facility costs.”

Shenzhen Karoo Ice and Snow World in Nanshan district, which claims to have the largest ski resort in the city, has reported that over 50 percent of its customers come from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, according to He Jie, the marketing planning division manager of the facility.

Since its opening in 2023, the venue has experienced its highest daily foot traffic during the Christmas period for two consecutive years, with the highest number of visitors exceeding 3,000 per day, she said. She added that the majority of these visitors are Hong Kong residents enjoying their Christmas holidays.

The manager said that the Winter Asian Games can serve as a promotional platform, potentially attracting more tourists from Hong Kong to experience skiing activities in the future.

She said she believes that the venue will continue to appeal to Hong Kong residents over time because the space available for such activities in Hong Kong is limited, and the costs are relatively high.

In October, Shenzhen is set to welcome the world’s largest indoor ice and snow center, Huafa Ice and Snow World, according to the Shenzhen government’s official website.

The resort will span approximately 100,000 square meters, equivalent to the size of 11 soccer fields, and will feature an 83-meter ski slope and a 441-meter single ski run, both of which will be the largest in China, according to the website.

Contact the writers at lilei@chinadailyhk.com