Harbin, China, August 17, 2025: ‘Ice City’ Harbin is perfectly positioned to be Asia’s winter sporting hub according to the President of Chinese Figure Skating Association (CFSA) Ren Hongguo.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Olympic Council of Asia, the CFSA President noted that Harbin’s geographical position coupled with its familiarity in hosting major sporting events made it perfect to be the centre of excellence for winter sports in the continent.
“Harbin’s frosty heritage, event-hosting experience and vibrant culture, positions it perfectly as an Asian winter sports hub,” said Ren.
“As a hub it can foster Asia-wide collaboration in winter sports, host top-tier international competitions, and boost China’s athletic prowess while driving regional economic and cultural growth, and tourism,” he added.
At the OCA General Assembly in Kuwait in May this year, the OCA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Municipal Government of Harbin, China to create a top-class training centre for winter sports in the host city of the 9th Asian Winter Games.
The ongoing OCA-ISU-CAIC Asian Figure Skating Youth Camp is an outcome of this MOU, and will be the first of many development projects which will benefit athletes, coaches and other officials across Asia.
While most of the visiting countries at this nine-day camp are still in the development stages, as far as China is concerned figure skating is widely popular.
“The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics boosted popularity drawing fans beyond traditional winter sports audiences,” Ren revealed. “We aim to sustain this momentum through public competitions and shows.
“Our long-term goal is for dual growth in elite performance and public engagement. We want to expand our rink network and clubs to integrate figure skating into daily life, as well as develop and train coaches, judges, and merge the sport with education,” Ren said.
Harbin is a cradle of figure skating in China having produced many Olympic champions: Sui Wenjing/Han Cong (2022 Olympic gold), Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo (2010 Olympic gold), Pang Qing/Tong Jian (2010 Olympic silver), and Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao (2006 Olympic silver). China, overall, has won nine Olympic medals in figure skating (2 gold medals, 3 silver and 4 bronze).
“Figure skating with its artistic, entertaining, and competitive nature has captivated many young people. Following Beijing 2022 and the ‘300 Million people participate in winter sports’ initiative (by Chinese President Xi Jinping), policies supporting rink construction, school programmes, and youth sports development have expanded. And more families are encouraging their children to take up the sport,” Ren noted.
At present there are almost 4,000 registered figure skaters in China according to Ren.
“The Chinese Figure Skating Association is actively involved in promoting the sport ensuring broader access and long-term participation to build a strong talent pipeline,” Ren added.