At the 13th Chinese National Winter Games, Jan 20 - 30 in Xinjiang, the delegation from Harbin, Heilongjiang province claimed 67 medals, putting them in first place, out of the 52 delegations from across the nation, after competing in 76 events and taking 32 gold medals, 20 silvers, and 15 bronzes.

Ma Wei (L) claiming victory in the men’s 500 m short-track speed skating at the 13th Chinese Winter Games in Urumqi, Xinjiang, on Jan 21. [Photo by Zhao Ge/Xinhua]

This year's Winter Games provided many opportunities for young athletes to gain experience on their way to Beijing’s Winter Olympic Games in 2022, especially in speed skating, figure skating, and freestyle skiing for athletes aged 19 and below, where Ma Wei took a gold in short-track speed skating and Ren Ziwei taking the men's short track 1,500 m, bringing the gold medals for short track back to Harbin at the national winter games.

Winner of the the most gold medals was Li Xin, a cross-country skier, while Liu Yiming beat the previous 10,000 m speed skating record. This was the first time for the National Winter Games, which started in 1959, to be held outside Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in the Northeast.

The event brought in a total of 1,388 athletes from the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, competing in 97 events over five sports.