Skating duo's story warms up Chinese winter

As the red Chinese flag rose over figure skaters Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo earlier this week, Shanghai resident Lili Zhu couldn’t hold back her tears.

“We’re all so proud – it’s the first time we got the gold in figure skating,” says Zhu, 28, a tour guide. “Their victory, and the years it took to achieve it, inspires the rest of us.”

What makes this success story even more poignant is the fact the two are partners off the ice, as well as on it.

“It was all over the local news and the clips are replaying again and again in the subway cars,” says Jody Bao, 40, who works in banking. “It’s not only monumental because we broke the Russian winning streak, but it also corresponds to China’s rising power internationally.”

Find out what some Shanghai residents thought of the performance and the Games in our vox pop at the bottom of this article.

Check out our Disasters on Ice gallery, where we take an unsportsmanlike take on some very curious Winter Olympic fashion statements.

As the Chinese Olympians dazzled Vancouver with four medals this week, Shanghai residents were glued to their television sets watching Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo and other stars. Many families gathered at home during the Spring Festival to watch the historic moments unfurl.

The skating duo’s love story also captivated Internet audiences with blogs, detailing the history of the duo’s courtship, a video of Zhao's marriage proposal to Xue after they won a previous championship and their long path to victory in Vancouver. Fans rushed online to post congratulations and express their patriotism. “This is worth seeing a hundred times,” posted one Chinese user. Another wrote simply “China’s pride!”

Igniting interest in the Games

For many viewers, the historic victory ignited interest in the Winter Games, which have traditionally been less popular than the summer ones. The summer version are more interesting to watch because there are more opportunities for Chinese medals, explains retired Shanghai resident Yuan Xiao, 74.

Summer Olympian Liu Xiang has become a household name and a cultural icon, especially in his Shanghai hometown. But the figure skaters’ compelling story could earn them a place in history too, some predict. 

In general, colder sports aren’t popular in Shanghai’s climate, where snowfalls are rare and most residents don’t know how to ice skate, says Chou Kuan Zhi, 70.

But for Sun Ying, 27, who hails from the same northern hometown of Harbin as the skating duo, winter sports victories bring out even more emotion.

“I felt this incredible happiness in my heart when I heard the news (of Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo),” says Ying, 27, a manager at a Shanghai massage center. “Everyone back home in Harbin said they were celebrating.”

From old to young, the interest in the Winter Olympics has been sparked with this year’s Chinese victories.

While the figure skaters’ story may have captivated the country, junior high student Gu Zhen Hao, 13, said he couldn’t take his eyes off speed skater Wang Meng as he watched her glide to the gold with his mom and dad this week. Speed skaters in China are rare, he said, which makes her victory that much more exciting.

Plus, he adds with a grin, “speed skating is just so cool."

Where were you when you watched the win?

Name: Lili Zhu
Age: 28
Occupation: Tour Guide
Where she watched the Games: Home with her husband and child (pictured).
Reaction:  “We’re all so proud – it’s the first time we got the gold in figure skating. Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo's victory, and the years it took to achieve it, inspires the rest of us.”

Name: Sun Ying
Age: 27
Profession: Dragonfly manager
Where she watched the games: She was working so hard she missed them, but watched the replays on the news.
Reaction: “I felt this incredible happiness in my heart when I heard the news.”

Name: Kiko Liu (left) and Jody Bao
Age: 26; 40
Occupation:  Sales manager for electronics company; international bank worker
Where they watched the Games: Bao watched the Games at home and then again on the news and the subway. Liu, who missed all that, heard about the victories from her friend Bao.
Reaction: “It’s not only monumental because we broke the Russian winning streak, but it also corresponds to China’s rising power internationally,” Bao says.

Name: Yuan Xiao
Age: 74
Occupation: Retired
Where he watched the Games: Home with his family.
Reaction:  “Compared to the Summer Games, I was more excited about Beijing.  Traditionally, Chinese aren’t good at the Winter Games.”

Name: Chou Kuan Zhi
Age: 70
Occupation: Retired
Where he watched the Games:  He didn’t, but he heard about the medals from the news.
Reaction: “I don’t like the Winter Olympics. In Shanghai, we’re in the south so we don’t care as much about winter sports. If we want to ice skate, we have to go to an indoor rink.”

 

Name: Gu Zhen Hao
Age: 13
Occupation: Junior High student
Where he watched the Games: Home with his mom and dad
Reaction: “Speed skating is exciting and fast.”