Liu Yandong, Vice Premier of China, officially opened the 13th National Winter Games at the Xinjiang Ice Sports Center on Wednesday.

The winter sports gala was introduced in 1959. In past decades, the games were generally held in the northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin, where winter sports have traditionally enjoyed huge popularity.

Awarding Xinjiang the right to host the quadrennial sporting gala echoed the country's ambition to encourage 300 million people in China to participate in winter sports while preparing for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The 13th National Winter Games will run until January 30 and 1,388 athletes from 52 provincial and municipal teams will compete for 97 gold medals in 11 disciplines.

A new, world-class ice sports center in a southwestern suburb of Urumqi will be the venue for all the ice-related action, including speed and figure skating, curling and ice hockey. 

Snow-based events will be staged at two existing resorts on the outskirts of the city that have been fully refurbished for the event.

Source:Xinhua

Proofread by John Devlin.