The ski resort in Altay, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region attracts tourists from all over the country. Photo: VCG

Over 346 million Chinese people have engaged in winter sports since Beijing successfully bid for hosting the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in 2015, accounting for a quarter of China's total population, according to a survey released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics of China. 

The results of the survey indicate that China has realized the goal of "getting 300 million Chinese to participate in winter sports."

People above 18 years old are the main force driving winter sports. The survey found that 300 million people in this age group engaged in winter sports with a participation rate of 27 percent. 

With technology and venue upgrades over the years, winter sports have broken the limits of weather and location, extending to other regions besides Northeast China, the cradle of winter sports in the country. According to the survey, of the 346 million people, 143 million live in East China, 51 million in the northeast, 84 million in the west and 68 million in the central part of the country.

Winter sports have also taken roots in areas in South China's Guangdong Province, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Regions.

To make gear and venues for winter sports more accessible to the public, hundreds of new facilities are being built. Currently, there are 803 indoor and outdoor ski resorts in China, up from 568 in 2015. 

About 2,000 primary and secondary schools across the nation had included winter sports in their curriculum by the end of 2020.

"With the venues being built across the country, young generations in China have found more and fresher ways to express themselves through various sports," a skiing enthusiast from Beijing surnamed Lu, who started as an amateur and now is a professional coach, told the Global Times.

"More and more children, as young as 3 or 5 years old, have started learning skiing and skating. For one thing, their parents have adopted a healthier lifestyle to educate their kids, and for another, they have more money to spend besides school," Lu said. 

The survey found that the vast majority of people take part in the winter sports either for entertainment or physical exercise. Nearly half engaged in such sports at least once a year, while around 11 percent did it more than three times every year.

The upcoming Winter Olympic Games are expected to further boost winter sports tourism with an estimated 305 million trips during the current winter season.