“Having 300 million people, far larger than the population of most countries, participate in winter sports is such an amazing achievement, especially when we consider the small number of people who used to ski and skate in the past,” a senior citizen who’s in his seventies told People’s Daily Online jubilantly. “I’ve been skating all my life, and the reason is because I just love it.”

As the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games kicks off, China has also achieved the goal of having 300 million people participating in winter sports. Devotees of snow and ice activities can also be seen at the skating rink in Beijing’s Central Business District. Among all the skating enthusiasts, there’s always one particular senior citizen on the ice. Wearing a casual suit and a pair of headphones, he shared the story of his own colorful life on the ice.