All the right stuff on the white stuff

Xu Xiujuan (third from left) plays games with the students to help them relax their muscles after class WANG FEI/Xinhua

The snow season is coming to an end, and Xu's husband Wang Wen has returned to Urumqi to reunite with the child. "I am the mother of a 2-and-a-half-year-old boy, and I am also in the early stage of starting a business. There are indeed many practical difficulties, but fortunately my family is very supportive, which has given me a lot of motivation," Xu says.

Her husband was once a professional speed skater, and he understands his wife's choice perfectly well. "I am also an athlete and identify with her love for skiing. Although our child is still young, and he needs the company of his mother, I am still willing to support her to pursue her dream," says Wang, the husband.

Xu now shoulders many responsibilities. She is the counselor, technical director and expert group leader of the Xinjiang Ski Association.

For the future, Xu has many plans in addition to continuing to hold free public classes in the ski resort. She wants to enter the local primary and middle school campuses and bring skiing knowledge to more children. Xu also hopes that she can be assisting in the making of gold medals for Xinjiang's ice and snow sports.

During the youth ski training, she will cultivate more candidates and send them to the professional team and then to the national team to win honors for the country. "Even if the students I teach do not achieve any outstanding results, as long as they can feel happy through skiing and keep in good health, I think everything I do is worth it," she says.