Celebrities in new TV reality show help put winter sports in spotlight

The first TV reality show featuring winter sports in China premiered on Saturday, with participants expecting it to boost the popularity of such sports in the country.

Directed by Zhang Yimou, The King of Kanone is a 12-episode show featuring eight Chinese singers and actors and will be broadcast on Beijing Television on Saturday evenings.

Among those participating are actress Zhang Jingchu and actor Lin Gengxin, who are very popular among Chinese youth.

Zhang Yimou, who was chief director of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has also been appointed to direct China's eight-minute performance at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea. At that time, China will take the Olympic flag, since Beijing will be the host city for the 2022 Games.

Zhang said those who perform well on the TV show will have a chance to be part of the performance in Pyeongchang, which will give the participating celebrities extra motivation.

"There are many opportunities for them to perform in a TV show or a movie in their career, but the chance to be part of the Olympic performance is much more precious, and thus the selection must be strict," said Zhang.

None of the celebrities has received previous training. They will get world-class instruction on the show by Zhao Hongbo and Shen Xue, the figure skating pair who won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

In the first episode, the contestants got their first instruction and performed in front of a large audience.

"A reality show is a good way to promote sports. It is very funny, and people might be interested in giving it a try after seeing the celebrities doing it or going to watch the competition from the stands," said Tan Jianxiang, a sports sociology professor at South China Normal University.

One netizen, Xiaowenzi, said on a micro blog. "It is inspiring to see the stars accepting the challenge, and it is more exciting to see how the Olympic champions coach them in front of the camera."

In 2015, the Beijing municipal government issued a plan to accelerate the development of winter sports from 2016 to 2022. It was the first such plan in China to be made by a local government.

Under the plan, by 2022 Beijing will build another 16 public indoor and 50 outdoor skating rinks and 30 small ski areas. It will also improve 22 existing ski resorts.

Beijing has also set a goal of 40 billion yuan ($5.8 billion) in revenue for the winter sports industry in the city by 2022.

tangyue@chinadaily.com.cn