Reaction to compulsory winter sports runs hot, cold

An ambitious proposal by Beijing's sports authority to introduce winter sports as a compulsory course in the city's primary and middle schools has triggered a mixed response from the public, with some believing it might go too far.

Beijing, though not a traditional winter sports power base, is seeing more kids play on the ice and snow after it and Zhangjiakou won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

It has also issued a plan to accelerate the development of winter sports from now through 2022 - the first such plan made by a local government in China.