A coach teaches students from Gaoshi Town School how to hit the slopes, in the indoor skiing park in Gaoshi town. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Gaoshi Town School in Qingtian county – administered by Lishui city, in East China's Zhejiang province – is a regular school with a twist, in that it provides winter sports training as afterschool activities for its pupils.

The school established the province's first skiing team for primary and secondary school students in March 2018.

Located in the mountainous areas of southwest Zhejiang, Gaoshi town rarely has snowy days in winter – and snow and ice sports seem far away from the kids in the area.

Then the school decided to cooperate with the local indoor skiing park, which now provides it with free space, equipment, logistics support and professional coaches.

"We want to promote children's physical and mental health through skiing and let them have fun in learning how to ski," said Zheng Yingrui, the school's principal.

The school's ski team now has 30 members aged 9-15, some of whom have even won medals in national competitions.