changji no.7 primary school in northwest china's xinjiang is famous for its speed skating team.
each winter, the school turns its playground into an ice rink for students to practice speed skating.
the school established its first speed skating team in 1992. since then, the team has won more than 500 medals for the school.
wang qiang and tian li were the first members of the school team. they later became professional speed skaters and won gold medals in the regional games of xinjiang. today, they've become teachers, coaching the speed skating team for the school.
each year, the school earmarks an outlay for ice rink maintenance and sports gear. it also organizes training camps, taking students to professional bases for training.
six-grader arna marigez is a member of the school team. she joined the speed skating team in 2019. the promising young girl won two gold medals in a local game.
her coach wang qiang says he aims to foster arna and other young up-and-coming talents to help them become greater athletes.
