Photo: Courtesy of organizers

Skiing enthusiasts braced below freezing temperatures of -15 C to participate in the 2022 Super Orienteering Ski Open held in Chongli in Beijing's neighboring Hebei Province on Saturday.

Team DDL from Beijing won the race in 1:39:30 to qualify for the series final on February 26, 2022 in Beidahu in Northeast China's Jilin Province. 

The series will continue in Aoshan in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province on January 8, 2022, followed by a trip to Yabuli in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on January 22, 2022.

Chongli will host some skiing events for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which will take place from February 4 to 20, 2022. In preparation for the Games, the seven skiing resorts in Chongli will be closed from January 4 to March 30, 2020 as part of COVID-19 prevention measures.

China has vowed to have 300 million people taking part in winter sports by 2022. After the end of the Winter Games, the grass-root series will resume for a finale in February.