Four years after Beijing's electrifying Winter Olympics, the icy heartbeat of China's winter sports still thrums at Beijing's Shichahai Sports School. As the world counts down to the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, CGTN Radio's new Sideline Story podcast series reveals how traditional ice skating culture fuels China's frosty ambitions 🌨️✨
"We're seeing a snowball effect – literally!" says one coach interviewed in the series, referencing how Beijing 2022 transformed public ice rinks into talent factories. The podcast explores everything from Uygur athletes breaking barriers to tech startups creating virtual reality ski simulators 💻⛷️
Fun fact: Shichahai – where emperors once ice-skated – now trains Gen Z athletes using AI motion tracking! The series drops February 15th, just as China launches its "Winter Sports Month" ahead of Milan. Will this cultural ice age melt into Olympic gold? ❄️🔥
