Henan Province in central China has seen a growing popularity of ice and snow sports among sport lovers since the onset of this winter, with doubling growth of juvenile and adolescent practitioners, which also drive high the zeal and demand for professional tutorials and amateur training for school students.
A ski resort in Zhengzhou City, capital of Henan, has seen a steady increase in visitors since it opened in mid-December, with a notable presence of young visitors. The number of visitors has exceeded 1,000 per day, up 20 percent compared to the same period last year.
Besides outdoor winter sports, indoor activities are also popular with parents and their children. At an indoor rink in Zhengzhou, staff said that the growing demand for winter holiday skating classes has led them to add four to five more classes to accommodate more young learners.
"I'm really happy with skating. I've been learning figure skating for four months, and I think the movements are elegant," said young girl Luo Jiayi.
According to the staff at the rink, the indoor skating classes mainly focus on figure skating and ice hockey, with students typically aged between four and eight.
Feng Shengtao, a figure skating coach, said that in recent years, there has been a growing number of people participating in ice sports, and the learners are becoming more professional than before.
"Some parents hope their children become more professional, so they have coaches guide their children through the relevant grading exams. Others just want to give their children a chance to develop a hobby and stay active," said Feng.
Meanwhile, the massive participation in winter sports among the population have resulted in an upsurge in ski equipment sales in Henan.
In Zhengzhou, the selection of skiing and snowboarding gear has become more comprehensive and specialized, offering various options for snow sport enthusiasts, from beginners to professionals.
"Since the beginning of winter and with the opening of major ski resorts, our sales of outdoor sports equipment have risen by 25 percent compared to the same period last year. Ski and snowboard equipment, in particular, has seen a notable increase, with sales doubling compared to last month," said Sun Yishan, a sales clerk at an outdoor sports store.
Wu Fenglin, executive director of a Zhengzhou-based snow sports equipment manufacturer, said they can produce more than 300 snowboards per day.
The demand for snowboard from ski resorts in southern China is also steadily increasing, rising from 7,000 last year to over 10,000 this year, according to Wu.
"Currently, 40 percent of our products are exported, primarily to North America and some European countries. The remaining 60 percent are sold domestically, with large demand from China's northeast region, while demand from the southern region is also gradually growing," said Wu.
Henan sees growing zeal for winter sports with rising juvenile learners
The halt in Russian gas transit through Ukraine has heightened fears over supply shortages and soaring energy costs in Europe.
Both Ukraine and Russia announced the stoppage of Russian gas supplies through Ukraine's territory to Europe on Wednesday, pushing some EU countries to resort to costlier energy alternatives.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday said that the halt will have "severe consequences for all of us in the European Union (EU), but will not harm Russia".
Fico said that Slovakia stands to lose hundreds of millions of euros in gas transit fees, while its citizens will face higher gas and electricity bills. He criticized major EU nations for prioritizing geopolitical goals at the expense of smaller countries' interests and needs.
On the same day, Slovakia's gas importer, SPP, announced that it has contingency plans in place to ensure gas supplies through alternative channels, such as utilizing pipelines from Germany and Hungary. However, this will incur additional transit fees.
Russian energy giant Gazprom said Wednesday that it has stopped gas supply for transit through Ukraine due to expiration of key agreements and the lack of renewal by the Ukrainian side.
The agreements, signed on Dec. 30, 2019, included a contract between Gazprom and Ukraine's national oil and gas company Naftogaz on the transportation of Russian gas through the Ukrainian territory, and a cooperation agreement between the operators of the two countries' gas transmission systems. These agreements officially expired at 08:00 Moscow time Wednesday, Gazprom said on Telegram.
Gazprom said Ukraine had repeatedly and unequivocally refused to extend these agreements, leaving the Russian company without the technical and legal means to continue gas transit through Ukraine.
Consequently, the supply of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory stopped at 08:00 Moscow time Wednesday, it added.
On the same day, Ukraine's Ministry of Energy reported that the transit of Russian natural gas through its gas transmission system was stopped at 07:00 Kyiv time Wednesday. The decision was made in the interest of national security, the ministry said, noting that Ukraine had informed its international partners about this in the prescribed manner.
Chinese analysts pointed out that Slovakia, being highly dependent on Russian gas transported via Ukraine, is the European country most affected by the supply halt.
"As the distance to alternative European gas pipelines is relatively far, Slovakia, heavily dependent on Russian gas transiting through Ukraine, is among the worst-hit countries. With the disruption of this route, Slovakia faces the greatest direct impact in terms of energy security and gas supply," said Cui Hongjian, professor at the Institute of Regional and Global Governance, Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Slovakia may need to spend an additional 500 million to one billion euros annually on gas imports, Cui said.
Cui further analyzed that some European countries had anticipated difficulties in sustaining gas cooperation between Ukraine and Russia and sought alternative solutions in advance. Hungary, for instance, is expected to rely more on gas supplies from the "TurkStream" and "South Stream" pipelines passing through Türkiye.
Cui noted that the search for alternative energy sources will intensify competition among European countries.
"Whether it's Slovakia or other European countries, the breakdown of natural gas cooperation with Russia forces them to seek alternatives. However, this process will further exacerbate competition among them. Over the past few days, the potential disruption of gas transit via Ukraine has already caused natural gas prices, as well as electricity prices, to continue rising across Europe," said Cui.
He said that European nations will have to bear the bruise of higher energy costs, at least for this winter.
Russian gas transit halt heightens fears over energy crisis in Europe
