Beijing is having its first-ever winter sports expo in February highlighting the country's growing interest in the genre.
All About Winter Sports
The 13th annual ISPO Beijing, a major sports exposition, will be held from Feb. 15 to 18, with this year's iteration focusing heavily on winter sports, Fibre2Fashion reported.
The trade fair is expected to feature a large selection of the latest winter sports trends, including innovations in skiing equipment and new sporting apparel.
Aside from the trade exhibition, ISPO Beijing will also feature for the first time a Startup Village where new companies can present their products to experts and potential business partners.
There will also be an accompanying program where visitors and exhibitors will be able to interact and gain knowledge from each other, as well as gain insights from industry experts.
The expo is to be held at the Chinese National Convention Center, with exhibitors covering more than 40,000 square meters. More than 30,000 people are expected to visit the event.
A Winter Sports Boom
The ISPO Beijing expo comes in at the right time, as the public's interest in winter sports is currently on the rise in the country. Short-track speed skater Li Jianrou expressed delight in the development, saying that teenagers should take advantage of the coming Chinese New Year holiday to get in the snow and learn some of the sports, Shanghai Daily reported.
Li is participating in the efforts made by the government of the city of Changchun in Jilin Province to encourage youngsters and promote winter sports. He noted that two of the three medalists for China in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics came from the province.
China was awarded the opportunity to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in 2016. During its bid, the country proclaimed that it will attract around 399 million to the winter sports scene. Since then, China has embarked on a major promotional effort, including boosting visitor numbers in the more than 200 ski resorts around the country.