The cross-country skiing competition of the 17th Shanxi Provincial Games (competitive sports category) was launched at the Dongyi Mountain Yabuluoni International Ski Resort in Changzhi, Shanxi province, on Jan 15. 

The opening ceremony of the cross-country skiing competition is held. [Photo/Shanxi Daily]

The event marked the first competitive sport of this year's Provincial Games, with athletes from five cities – Taiyuan, Datong, Yangquan, Xinzhou, and Lyuliang – taking part.

Often referred to as a "marathon on snow", cross-country skiing places exceptionally high demands on athletes' physical fitness and endurance. The three-day competition features multiple events, including individual sprints, 10-kilometer races, and team sprint events. 

Contestants compete at the event. [Photo/Shanxi Daily]

On the opening day, Han Run of the Datong team and Wang Yu of the Taiyuan team delivered strong performances, winning the men's and women's individual sprint (freestyle) titles, respectively.

The 17th Shanxi Provincial Games were jointly hosted by the Shanxi Provincial Sports Bureau and the Changzhi Municipal People's Government. Winter sports such as cross-country skiing were included in the competitive sports program in an effort to promote the development of the ice-and-snow economy across the province.

In recent years, Changzhi has built an integrated ice-and-snow industrial chain encompassing winter sports, ice-and-snow culture, equipment manufacturing, and winter tourism, with five ski resorts already completed and put into operation.