You’re unlikely to see skis like this on the slopes of PyeongChang during the Winter Olympics. In the Altay Mountains of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, local craftsmen still make skis with a traditional design where the bottoms are covered with horsehide and the boots tied on with leather rope. /VCG Photo

Slanbek, 63, has been making these skis for half a century, and archaeologists have dated cave paintings showing people on skis in Xinjiang between 10,000 and 30,000 years ago. /VCG Photo

The long history of skiing in China makes the country an appropriate host for the 2022 Winter Olympics. /VCG Photo

The direction of the horse fur on the traditional skis allows them to slide forward, while preventing them from slipping backward when traveling uphill. /VCG Photo