The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are less than two months away. China has been encouraging people from all over the country to get into the Olympic spirit by taking up winter sports, even in southern areas which aren't so accustomed to snow and ice.

In Shanghai, dozens of middle schools have been listed as "Schools with Winter Sports Programs" by China's Ministry of Education, and nearly 80,000 students are participating in classes related to winter sports and activities.

Feng Zhigang, the principal of Shanghai High School, hailed the initiative, saying the city "has more daring, open-minded people and a better understanding of new trends".

"Regarding the methods of education, we tend to have academic, physical, and ethical approaches," he added. "We see winter sports as a kind of social skill to promote better negotiation and mutual-understanding between people of future generations from different countries."

Feng's high school just opened its own indoor ice rink. Students have been taking ice skating classes, with many of them choosing to take most advanced classes after school. To better coach the students, the school has invited former professional ice sports athletes from the team of Yang Yang, China's first Winter Olympic champion.

Ice and snow sports are getting more attention from local government. A series of winter sports competitions were held in 2021, in events such as skiing, skating, curling and ice hockey. 

For example, in April, the Shanghai Municipal Sport Administration launched the first Shanghai Youth Skiing Open Championship. The competitions took place on ski simulators in skiing clubs, something which is becoming more and more popular in Shanghai.

According to the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, by 2022, all 16 districts in Shanghai will have at least one ice and snow sports venue for young people. At the same time, the city is also trying to train more people to teach the students.