Speaking of Shan Zhaojian, it is a thunderous name in the Chinese ski world, and he is also a widely praised Chinese expert in the field of world ski history research.
Who is he? He is the former director of the Ski Division of the National Sports Commission, the secretary general of the Chinese Ski Association, the first skier to win the gold medal in New China, the first person to ski in China, the witness of the development of skiing in China, and Shan Zhaojian, who was awarded the title of "Father of Chinese Skiing" by the International Ski History Association.
On January 2, as the "father of skiing" in China, Shan Zhaojian was a guest in the live broadcast room of Xinwang Bank's Sports Talk, telling the majority of sports lovers about his life with skiing.
In the 50s of the last century, the country began to develop sports, and advocated "extensive ice and snow sports" in the northeast and other places. In 1954, Shan Zhaojian, who was only 16 years old, joined the ski professional training team in response to the call of the country.
In the live broadcast room of Xinwang Bank, speaking of skiing, Shan Zhaojian laughed and said that he was a "post-80s" skier, and when it came to the 70 years of his relationship with skiing, Shan Zhaojian was very humble: "I liked to play in the snow when I was a child, and later participated in the national ski competition, until I retired in 1998, and I was not idle after retirement. I'm proud to call myself a ski veteran. Skiing is a battle, and I'm 85 years old and have been skiing for 70 years, so as a skiing veteran, I'm still very competent. ”
In February 1957, the first National Ski Games was held in Tonghua, Jilin. At that time, each athlete was capped at three events. The 19-year-old Shan Zhaojian won the men's 5km, 10km and team relay events in cross-country skiing. He said that at that time, wearing thin cloth pants was mainly to reduce the burden on his body, and winning the competition further inspired him to open up a life of ice and snow. Two years later, at the Winter Games, Shan Zhaojian won two gold medals in cross-country skiing again, and also tried ski jumping, becoming a "pathfinder" in domestic ski jumping and Nordic combined skiing.
Recalling the situation back then, Shan Zhaojian said that his earliest equipment was not snowboards and poles, but worn-out iron washbasins and straw sandals after watering and freezing. In the live broadcast room of Xinwang Bank, "At that time, there was no formal ski resort, that is, on the cultivated land in summer, after the snow fell in winter, a snow trail was carved. There is no smooth slope or mechanized guarantee like the current one, in fact, it is wild snow, relying on natural snowfall. Shan Zhaojian said.
What is even more unimaginable is that at that time, athletes did not even have formal teaching. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was no real standardized skiing, and they all started from scratch. Shan Zhaojian recalled those years.
Speaking of all kinds of ski equipment now, Shan Zhaojian is very envious, because at that time they didn't have formal ski clothes at all. "The clothes they wore were even more rudimentary, just ordinary cloth clothes. Wearing a cotton white coat on the upper body, a pair of blue cloth pants on the lower body, and no cold-proof clothing, even if it is a ski suit, wearing a cotton jacket is waterproof, windproof, breathable, and warm, none of these functions are available. The snowboard is more rudimentary, it is made of wood, this kind of ski is called modern snowboard, folded it, nailed it with a piece of iron, and then continued to be used. Recalling the past, Shan Zhaojian is still full of passion and bitterness.
Still, he remains optimistic, saying, "Don't think of skiing as scary, it's like driving a car, you learned it when you're young, and you drive it when you're old." I can't ski in the mountains now, I can go cross-country skiing, I can't go cross-country, I can ski flat. I feel like I can skate to 90, and even 95 is not impossible. ”
The picture above shows Shan Zhaojian and the guests in the live broadcast room of Xinwang Bank. The second from the right is Shan Zhaojian, the "father of Chinese skiing", the second from the left is Tian Xin, chairman of Merrill Lynch Cultural Tourism and secretary general of the Sports Industry Branch of the China Real Estate Chamber of Commerce, the first from the right is Cui Jie, a senior sports person, and the first from the left is Xu Xiaoqing, general manager of the brand marketing department of Xinwang Bank).
Because of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, everyone is no stranger to Chongli Ski Resort, but as the site selector and designer of Chongli Ski Resort, Shan Zhaojian said that Chongli was a national-level poor county back then, and its climatic conditions were not the best place to build a ski resort, but the advantage of Chongli is that there are many vegetation on the mountain, the mountain is hilly, and there are very good snow-making conditions. Skiers can also enjoy the magnificent scenery of the forest and snow fields while skiing. Moreover, skiing needs a market, and Chongli is less than 300 kilometers away from the urban area of Beijing, and the consumer market and potential are huge. Under his promotion, the first ski resort in Chongli came into being, and the mass ski market here has gradually grown under its spark effect.
The transformation of Chongli into a ski destination has not only become a favorable condition for Beijing's successful bid to host the Winter Olympics, but also the development of skiing has directly promoted rural revitalization and promoted the development of rural economy and cultural tourism. In the live broadcast room of Xinwang Bank, "opening up one or several ski resorts, enlivening several lines along the way, bringing wealth to a township, a city, and a group of people is the real industry to support rural revitalization." Shan Zhaojian said excitedly.
In 1962, Shan Zhaojian decided to retire due to a fractured foot bone. "After retiring, I worked as a coach and ice and snow sports manager, and witnessed the development of skiing in New China. During this period, no matter what I do, I want to figure out one thing, the sport of skiing, what did it originate from?
In order to trace the origin of human skiing, Shan Zhaojian began special research in 1993, and it took 13 years to finally determine this fact. At the symposium 13 years later, Shan Zhaojian drafted the "Altay Declaration", which confirmed that as early as 10,000 years ago, Altay had skiing activities, which means that Altay in Xinjiang is the oldest ski resort in the world, which means that China is the origin of human skiing.
In December of the same year, at a press conference in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Altay City, China Ski Association and other units solemnly announced that Altay in China is the earliest origin of human skiing. In this regard, Shan Zhaojian said: "Whenever I mention this issue, I always have a sense of pride, our China is the earliest origin of human skiing, that is to say, the sun of human skiing first rose from our Xinjiang Altay in China. ”
So far, Shan Zhaojian has written more than a dozen monographs on skiing. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the study of the origin of human skiing, the World Ski History Association awarded him the title of "Father of Chinese Skiing" and the "World Ski Lifetime Achievement Award". He was the only one in Asia and Europe to receive this Lifetime Achievement Award at that time.
After retiring, Shan Zhaojian not only took on the responsibility of cultivating rising stars, but also promoted skiing to the people. Now, more than 20 years after retirement, the 85-year-old Shan Zhaojian has completed the "Eighth Five-Year Plan" and formulated a second "Five-Year Plan" for himself, that is, the Ninety Plan.
In the live broadcast room of Xinwang Bank, he said, "The 90 Plan is to continue to make efforts in the study of the history and culture of skiing in the world in the five years between the ages of 85 and 90, so that the development of China's skiing history can be closely aligned with the development of this field in the world, and the legacy of the Olympic Games will be inherited and carried forward." Second, I think that China's ice and snow industry still lacks the development and construction of a big culture, and I would like to assist relevant local units and countries in the next five years to build the Ice and Snow Sports Museum, the Museum of the Origin of Human Skiing, and the Silk Road Ice and Snow Development History Museum. At present, these three museums already have a planning vision and have already started planning, and I will do my best to promote the development of these three museums. Third, it is the construction of a great culture. I think that the development of China's ice and snow industry and career lacks more intuitive film reflection, and in the past five years, there must be one or two movies with ski stories and skating stories to appear to audiences who love ice and snow sports across the country. I am very confident that as a veteran of the post-80s, I will take the lead! ”
Author: Xu Xiaoqing, Ning Xue.