Outfitted with armor, helmets and skates, you'd easily mistake them for participants in a local hockey scrimmage if it wasn't for their authentic-looking Qing dynasty-era costumes. But instead, these are skaters in Beijing's annual royal ice performance that locals can watch at Beihai Park this week.
The performance is a recreation of a royal competition that featured Qing dynasty soldiers specially-trained in ice skating. 200 members of the 1,600-strong "Eight Banner Ice Skating Battalion" showed off their skills at speed skating, ice acrobatics, and even ice archery.
Spectators to the Beihai Park ice show can see skaters skating in formation holding Qing dynasty-era flags as well as acrobatic feats.
With the 2022 Winter Olympics drawing ever nearer, Beijing has been rolling out numerous winter outdoor activities to immerse the public in winter sports. Although it has been largely unknown (at least to us here at the Beijinger), the Beihai royal ice show has been going on for years. For although ice skating may not seem to be a big part of traditional Chinese culture, it was definitely important to the Manchurians.
Historical records depict Beihai Lake inundated with hundreds of ice skaters during Manchu rule, with Qing Emperor Qianlong at one time calling it a "national pastime."
Errant arrows flying off into a crowd of spectators may be an issue, but "archery on ice" would be an entertaining possible addition to the Olympic Games as seen in this old painting:
Although their time has passed, the Manchus have left an indelible mark upon Chinese ice skating as witnessed by the 2010 Olympic gold and silver pair skating medals won by two Chinese skaters of Manchu ethnicity, Zhao Hongbo, and Tong Jian.
The royal ice skating show continues this week until Saturday, Jan 26 at Hehua Lake at Beihai Park with six daily performances between 10.30am and 3.30pm. Additionally, the Summer Palace's Kunming Lake is also hosting a traditional Manchu ice show of its own.
And on a related note: Visitors to Beihai Park may be interested in an exhibit that features China's participation in the Winter Olympic Games. At the exhibit, visitors can see the snow boots worn by flag bearer Zhao Weichang at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games as well as all Olympic torches that have been used since the 2002 Salt Lake City games.
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E-Mail: charlesliu1 (at) qq (dot) com
Twitter: @Sinopath