The best part about winter is being able to live out your favorite Frozen moments. While Beijing has no shortage of skating rinks, there’s just something that lights a fire inside when you’re skating at the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube where the world’s greatest athletes once competed for Olympic gold back in 2008.

This winter, the 2nd annual Beijing Ice and Snow Festival takes place at the site where the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games winners will receive their medals. With statues of Bing Dwen Dwen, the winter Olympic mascot, amongst other Olympic collectibles and characters, the competitive hype for gold is already in the air.

Designed by Sports Republic Group, the Cube Outdoor Rink hopes to bring the love for winter sports to China by introducing them to kids at a young age. According to founder Vanessa Folkesson, “Most of the youth in China were not so familiar with winter sports, and Chinese children are not used to be out and active in the wintertime because their parents worry about them catching a cold. But being a non-skater and non-skier living in North America and Europe, I realized that it was important to learn skiing and skating to be able to have more fun with my friends during winter. That is why I wish to give the gift of winter sports learning for youth especially in China, and I wish they learn winter sports as a social skill.”

This year they’ve teamed up with Mulu Restaurant for winter fun and food on ice with the Mulu Cafe on the second floor. So how are the two related? Mulu’s mantra is to bring people together through food and multicultural events to provide a better understanding of people and culture, just like the Olympics.

For the kids who want to spend some time on the ice, while the rink will be open all winter, there’s a special treat for young hockey fans. From January 15 to 19 Sweden’s biggest all-sports club AIK along with the Nordic Vikings will be hosting an outdoor hockey camp for kids to improve their skills with some pros.

The Cube Outdoor Rink will be open until February 8 from 10 am-6 pm and 10 am-8 pm on weekends and holidays. As a safety precaution, the rink will be closed for operations if the weather conditions are determined unsafe for children. We recommend calling in advance just to be sure. Click here for more information.

Entrance into the festival is free. RMB90 to ice skate on the weekends (Saturday and Sunday) and RMB70 during the weekday (Monday-Friday). For information, call Candice 155 1230 8913.

Photos: Courtesy of organizer

I can’t say how many times, if ever, Chinese New Year and the Winter Olympics coincide but this year they did. Chinese New Year, the time families come together to reconnect to ring in the New Year and the joys of the coming Spring. I love the Olympics – the greatest amateur (usually) athletes come together to compete on the world stage.

There are lessons to be learned from the celebrations of both these major events. Family is important, for it is the root from which we come. As students in the application process or about to embark on that process, students want to bring honor to their families. Their hopes and dreams are tied to where they plan or hope to go to further their studies. Day to day, studying and preparing for the goal – a great education that will make them successful or so they hope. Yes, many ways they are working for themselves, but always in the background, there is family.

Little do they know, these same students, are in a race quite like those at the Olympics. In the application process, students are very much like the athletes coming from around to world to meet in Korea last week. When a student (family) says they want to apply to a top 10 or 25 school, they have just indicated they think they are world caliber. I believe they rarely think they are in that deep – competing on the world stage, but by choosing a school of that level, that is their competition.

Top schools have students applying from around the world – top students from which to select their next class. The completion is that steep. When a student speaks about their “dream” school, the hope is that they have been working their whole lives to make that dream possible – reading books, developing their language skills, deepening their academic and personal interests, to name a few things they should be doing in making that dream possible.

Coming back to Olympic athletes, they have worked tirelessly to reach the pinnacle of their careers. Sometimes they have met with injuries, lost races, and human tragedy, but they have focused, laser-like on reaching the podium. Take Lindsey Vonn – one of the top women skiers in the world. Over her career, she has won, lost and had to come back from major injuries. Her resolve goes beyond what many might think is humanly possible. Yet, Vonn is one of the most decorated women in her field.

As students, seeking a place at a top school, you may not need to go quite to those lengths, but certainly in trying to achieve a goal of that ilk, one must spend many years in preparation. It cannot be the last minute goal when the difference between acceptance and denial can be a perceptible as the loss of a race at 100/second. Preparation takes time, energy, and focus. It is not a dream but a long run to the finish.

One thing to notice is that many athletes come back year after year to reach the podium. Tweaking their skills, working even harder in the interim. But even if they don’t make the finals, they have proven themselves to the world, they are among the best in the world, not only from their country but among other athletes in their field. And that is what I love about the Olympics. There are no losers. These athletes come to compete, and even without medaling they are Olympians – Winners.

The same is true of students in the application process. If the list is good and broad, there are no losers. Everyone will get a deserved place to reach their goals and expectations. Sure, have a few wild card schools but make sure every school on the list has a reason for being there and that some are attainable. Even if you’re a world-class student, make sure there are schools that you can make, because, in the end, you may win or lose by 100/second. And if you lose, remember you tried your best but don’t consider yourself a loser, you have still won. The next race is right around the corner.

As for family, they will be there to support you and cheer you on. Whether you win the Gold or not, this is your race. Give it your all but know the race is just a race and life is a long time. Make the most of what is in front of you, no matter if there is a Gold Medal around your neck or you just finished the race. You’re still a winner!

Photo: npr.org

As the Winter Olympics heat up in PyeongChang (the opening ceremony is slated for 9pm tonight), Beijing’s sports fans will have plenty of their own rising stars to cheer on. Sure, the Middle Kingdom has long had an edge when it comes to figure skating, but that’s by no means the only sport that China is poised to succeed at this go around. Below, some of Beijing’s top sports reporters and industry insiders like Justin Downes (a Beijing based Canadian who has worked for years on developing China’s skiing scene) and Domo Yu (a skiing consultant from China who learned her trade on Alaska’s slopes) list their picks for China’s gold medal prospects.

World champion Chinese snowboarder Liu Jiayu

Justin Downes, president of Axis Leisure Management
I certainly would keep my eye on the snowboard half-pipe and freestyle aerials teams. These athletes typically come from a gymnastics background and have recently performed well on the World Cup circuit. For snowboarding, my pick would be Liu Jiayu and Cai Xuetong for female, and Zhang Yiwei for male. For freeski female I’d say Xu Mengtao, and for male, you should be sure to watch out for Qi Guangpu.

Domo Yu, CMO and co-founder of x2Rider Sports consulting
My favorite is the aerials team: Xu Mengtao, Jia Zongyang, and Qi Guangpu. But I also like half-pipe snowboarders like Liu Jiayu. Those athletes proved themselves at recent World Cup level events. I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of them stand on the podium in PyeongChang.

Silver medal winning Chinese speed skater Wu Dajing

Spencer Musick, sports editor at Xinhua News Agency
Probably the best medal hopes are short-track speed skating, but China has strong competition from South Korea and the US there. Wu Dajing would be one to watch for sure for speed skating, seeing as he got silver in Sochi.

Chen Xiangfeng, deputy director of sports department at China Daily
For me, China’s best gold medal prospect is figure skating world champion duo Sui Wenjing and Han Cong. They are so talented. I can’t wait to watch it. I think figure skating is so popular in China because it’s such a beautiful sport, and of course, it’s where China has long had its strongest winter Olympic showings.

Sui Wenjing and Han Cong

Mike Fox, sports reporter at CGTN
The best chance China’s got at medals is figure skating. Sui Wanjing and Han Song won the world championship last year, so a lot of hope is on them. But then there’s freestyle skiing. There’s a woman named Li Nina who got silver in Vancouver in 2010, and she’s got a very good shot at getting a medal. I’d also pick Qi Guangpu, who is quite young and upcoming and has been doing really well in the regular season. Then there’s Han Tianyu, who got a silver in Sochi in the 1500m short track for speed skating. He’ll be there again at PyeongChang, and I bet he’ll do very well.

Juha Tuominen, executive director at Sinoreach 
I have seen a few of Wu Dajing’s competitions. He is super strong, especially at the 500m. There is no one who can beat him if he has a good day. Another example of a remarkable Chinese athlete that is hard not to be a fan of is Liu Jiayu. She’s No. 2 in the world ranking of snowboarding freestyle right now. I have actually met her once and her personality, attitude and look on life are all awesome.

You can watch the 2018 Winter Olympic Games on CCTV 5 or live stream here. For the full schedule of competitions, click here.

Photos: Inside The Games, Getty Images, Ice Radio

As well as traditional snow and ice sports such as skiing and skating, recent reports have suggested that a surprising new entry might feature in the Beijing Winter Olympics: mahjong.

Yes, that’s right. A game perhaps more associated with old people sitting around in parks or housewives with secret gambling problems, mahjong has been mooted as a possible “demonstration event” at the 2022 Games. Demonstration events haven’t been a part of the Olympics since 1992, when for both Curling in the Winter Games and Taekwondo in the Summer it was a step to full inclusion. Other sports have not been so lucky: pigeon racing, cannon shooting and kite flying all failed to make the leap from demonstration to Olympic sport.

The origins of mahjong are murky and disputed. Despite some claims for ancient provenance, most experts agree that it emerged in its modern form in Shanghai in the late 19^th century, when the crucial shift from cards to tiles took place. In the 1920s the game became popular in the west, and the craze for Mahjong parties where guests dressed up in “Chinese” costumes even inspired a novelty pop song, “Since Ma Is Playing Mahjong.”

Mahjong faces some challenges before being accepted as an Olympic event though. It has only recently been admitted by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), and has to wait in line behind longer-established games like chess and bridge.

“The six mind sports can be divided into three levels”, according to Chen Zelan, President of IMSA. “Chess and bridge, which have already been recognized as sports by the IOC, have the priority to be admitted to the Games. Among the other four mind sports, go and draughts are official member sports of SportAccord, while Xiangqi and Mahjong are still just observers of it, let alone (could they be included in the) Winter Olympic Games.”

There’s also the many different variations of the rules, and the strong element of luck involved. However the prospects for Olympic Mahjong are not as dim as it may appear. From 1912 to 1948, poetry was an official event at the Games, for which medals were awarded. So anything is possible.

Photos: Audrey via Flickr, pinterest.com

Inge Sorensen
At the infamous 1939 Berlin Olympics, there was a little-known Danish swimmer called Inge Sorensen. She won a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke at the tender age of 12 years and 24 days – the youngest female medalist in Olympic history. Sorensen gets extra points for refusing to hail Adolf Hitler on the podium; she later became a symbol of the anti-Nazi movement in her native Denmark. Dubbed “Little Lovely Inge” by the Danish media, Sorensen was greeted by 30,000 fans upon her return to Copenhagen. She died in Burlington, New Jersey at the age of 86. 

Marjorie Gestring
At the same Olympics, American diver Marjorie Gestring beat out rival Katherine Rawls for the gold in the three-meter springboard event. She was 13 years old, not much older than Sorensen – to this day, still the youngest gold medalist in Olympic history. After her victory, Gestring continued to compete in US national championships, even as the 1940 Summer Olympics were canceled due to World War II. She died in 1992 and has since been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame.

Dominique Moceanu
Even before getting to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, it was a tough road for 14-year-old gymnast Dominique Moceanu. She was forced to sit out the Olympic trials due to a stress fracture, but successfully petitioned her way onto the team that would later dubbed the “Magnificent Seven." At the Olympics, Moceanu struggled on the vaults and balance beam, taking a particularly nasty fall in the latter. However, the Magnificent Seven rebounded to clinch Team USA’s first-ever gold medal in women’s gymnastics – a feat that took 16 years to repeat, thanks to this year’s spunky “Fierce Five.”

Tara Lipinski
Though Tara Lipinski’s feat didn’t take place during the Summer Olympics, she has the distinction of being the youngest individual figure skating gold medalist in Winter Olympic history. During the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, the bubbly 15-year-old from Philadelphia skated her short program to music from the animated film Anastasia, followed by a free skate program that put her ahead of teammate and defending champion Michelle Kwan. How’s that for a fairy tale story? The clincher was Lipinski’s program – the most technically challenging in Olympic history. How challenging? Try “triple loop-triple loop combination jump, another triple-triple combination, and seven triple jumps total” challenging. (We don’t even know what that means, but it’s making us dizzy just reading it.) After the Olympics, Lipinski joined the professional figure skating circuit and performed in both Stars on Ice and Champions on Ice. She’s now a commentator for NBC’s Universal Sports.

Nadia Comaneci
No list of the youngest Olympians would be complete without Nadia Comaneci. At age 14, the Romanian gymnast made history at the 1976 Montreal Olympics with the first perfect 10 ever awarded in gymnastics. Her performance was so unprecedented that the scoreboard posted a “1.00,” momentarily confusing both athlete and spectators. Comaneci went on to achieve six more perfect 10s and nab three gold medals, becoming the youngest all-around gymnastics champion in Olympic history.

It’s now legally impossible to break Comaneci’s age record since the age limit was raised to 16. What’s more, the International Gymnastics Federation changed the scoring system in 1997; there is no longer a ceiling on scores. Comaneci herself, now 50 and living in Oklahoma City with her husband and son, has called for the return of the perfect 10 system to dispel confusing gymnastics scores.

To see athletes 1-5, check out our previous post, "10 Olympic Champions Under 16, Part 1."

Photos (in order of appearance): Danish Teak Classics, The Met, Getty Images, x_ships via Flickr, Dave Gilbert via Wikimedia Commons

The life of an Olympic athlete is a grueling one. Competitors must follow strict diets and rigid training schedules, all while maintaining a single-minded focus to become the very best at their sport. Failure can be heartbreaking, as seen from South Korean fencer Shin A-Lam’s controversial defeat on Day 3 of the London Summer Olympics. It’s all the more impressive when the athlete in question must also juggle homework and exams on top of four to five-hour practices. With the London Summer Olympics now in full swing, we take a look at 10 of the youngest Olympic champions of all time. 

He Kexin
Depending on who you ask, Chinese gymnast He Kexin (pictured above) was either 14 or 16 when she competed at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Though the Chinese Olympic Committee listed her age as 16, some records suggested that she might have been under the age of eligibility. However, He and her teammates were cleared after an investigation by the International Federation of Gymnastics (IFG). She went on to win a gold medal on the uneven bars after a controversial tiebreaker with American gymnast Nastia Liukin. Stay tuned; He will be competing again this year at the London Olympics.

Ruta Meilutyte
One of the early breakout moments of this year’s Olympics was 15-year-old Lithuanian swimmer Ruta Meilutyte surging ahead of the pack to win the 100m breaststroke. This was her country’s first-ever Olympic gold, snatched from the US’ Rebecca Soni with just 0.08 seconds’ advance. Meilutyte, who moved to the UK three years ago with her father, also broke the European record in the heats – beating her personal best by two seconds. Look out for her in the swimming finals!

Barbara Pearl Jones
At age 15, Barbara Pearl Jones (later Slater) represented the US at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics in the 4 x 100m relay event with her teammates Mae Faggs, Janet Moreau, and Catherine Hardy. Faggs marshaled Team USA into taking gold despite having never worked together before, making Jones the youngest female Olympic gold medalist in track and field. She would repeat the feat at the 1960 Olympics in Rome before retiring; Jones now lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Fu Mingxia
In July of 1992, a Chinese schoolgirl still shy of her fourteenth birthday shocked diving fans by capturing the gold medal in women’s platform diving. Hubei native Fu Mingxia’s closest competitor, Elena Microchina, lagged nearly 50 points behind. As The LA Times‘ Mike Penner noted, “Fu could have cannonballed her last dive and no one would have touched her.” At the ripe old age of 17, she retired to enroll at Tsinghua University, then returned to the pool to claim four more Olympic medals (three gold, one silver) before hanging up her swimsuit for good. 

Dimitrios Loundras
If you don’t count the anonymous coxswains (the guys who are in charge of steering a boat) who were at the 1900 Olympics, Greek gymnast Dimitrios Loundras is the youngest documented medalist and competitor in Olympic history at 10 years and 218 days. He won a bronze medal on home soil in the team parallel bars at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. According to his Wikipedia page, Loundras went on to fight in both world wars and reached the rank of admiral in the Greek navy. Way to overachieve, Dimitrios.

For athletes 6-10, check out “10 Olympic Champions Under 16, Part 2.”

Photos (in order of appearance): China Daily, Robertas Dačkus, History.com, 163.com, Bleach Report