With the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics as a catalyst, the sales of products related to winter sports have achieved continuous high growth this year, said Liu Hui, director of Consumption and Industry Development Research Institute of JD.com.

Data from the online marketplace showed that since the beginning of 2022, orders of ice and snow sports equipment on the platform have surged by 108% compared with the same period last year, and the sales value registered a year-on-year increase of 135%.

The most robust growth was witnessed in east and south China. "This means that winter sports are not exclusive to northerners. Thanks to the rapid development of indoor facilities, people across more extensive areas are participating in ice and snow sports," Liu explained in an interview on Friday.

He said the growth of professional equipment was faster than that of products for beginners, indicating the rise of a large number of devoted winter sports fans in China.

In terms of age, Liu said younger consumers prefer snow sports, while middle-aged consumers prefer ice sports. He added that Generation Z represents a major consumer group of winter sports equipment, with single boards becoming their hallmark.

About 346 million Chinese people have participated in winter sports activities since Beijing won the bid to host the Winter Olympic Games in 2015, accounting for 24.56% of China's total population, said a report based on a survey that the General Administration of Sport of China (GAS) entrusted to China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In 2022, the sales revenue of China's ice and snow sports equipment is expected to exceed 20 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of more than 20%, according to an action plan for the development of China's ice and snow sports equipment industry (2019-2022).