Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Mountains covered under snow
2. Various of man skiing on slope
3. Various of ancient rock paint depicting people hunting with fur skis
4. Various of Ahzam Salik skiing
5. Various of freight station, workers working
6. Various of Ahzam Salik carrying cargoes
7. SOUNDBITE (Kazakh) Ahzam Salik, ski coach, ski resort (starting with shot 6):
"Though I love the sport very much, I couldn’t make much money out of it, and that was my most straightforward thought. My grandma and dad were not in good shape, so one of us must go out and work for money."
8. Doorplate
9. Various of Ahzam's belongings hanging on bedstead
10. Ahazam lying in bed
11. Various of Ahzam meeting with Zou Xiangdong, cadre assisting Xinjiang
12. Aerial shot of village
13. Various of Ahazam making fur ski board
14. SOUNDBITE (Kazakh) Ahzam Salik, ski coach, ski resort (partially overlaid with shots 15-16):
"It was so hard to put up a team as everyone has got their own ideas now."
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15. Various of Ahazam going to friend's to invite him joining his performing team, being rejected
16. Aerial shot of village
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17. Various of Ahazam going to friend's to invite him joining his performing team; friend accepting offer
18. Sign reading (Chinese) "birthplace of human skiing"
19. Various of Ahzam skiing with teammates on fur ski boards
20. Various of Ahzam, teammates performing, tourists filming with phones
21. SOUNDBITE (Kazakh) Ahzam Salik, ski coach, ski resort (overlaid with shot 22):
"I personally have a little dream, which is to build my own fur ski team and meanwhile greet the Beijing Winter Olympics (with our stunning performance)."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
22. Various of Ahzam skiing with teammates on fur ski boards
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

The Altay Region of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the birthplace of ancient Chinese skiing, has seen its tradition of fur skis being revived and local snow tourism flourishing with the help of officials assisting Xinjiang from the also snowy northeastern Heilongjiang Province.

Altay is believed to be one of the places in which skiing originated, where an ancient rock painting depicting people hunting with the fur skis was found, dating back more than 10,000 years.

Fur skis, made of pine wood and horsehide, have a long history dating back more than 12,000 years.

The graining of the horsehide on such skis provides friction to help skiers climb mountains while enabling them to still glide smoothly downhill.

Ahzam Salik was one of the most talented skiers in the region but was held back from pursuing his dream as a professional skier due to a language barrier and family issues.

"Though I love the sport very much, I couldn’t make much money out of it, and that was my most straightforward thought. My grandma and dad were not in good shape, so one of us must go out and work for money," he said.

Ahzam had worked at a freight station that is over 100 kilometers away from home, carrying cargo while earning meager wages and not being able to take care of his family, until Zou Xiangdong came to him.

Zou is one of the government officials who came to Xinjiang to assist with its construction from Heilongjiang. He sees the young man as a valuable talent to revive the local fur skis and in turn boost the local snow sports and tourism industry. He asked if Ahzam could come back and work as a skiing coach at a local ski resort and maybe put up a performing team of fur skis.

Ahzam jumped at the offer and started to recruit fur skiers, but the task was difficult as young people in his village all had gone to the city for work or study, and he could only set up a team made up of senior skiers.

"It was so hard to put up a team as everyone has got their own ideas now," he said.

However, with determination to carry on the tradition and show it to the rest of the world, they practiced hard and won praise from tourists with stunning performances. Now, working at the resort, they can earn 4,500 yuan (about 691.12 U.S. dollars) every month by coaching the tourists and performing.

"I personally have a little dream, which is to build my own fur ski team and meanwhile greet the Beijing Winter Olympics (with our stunning performance)," he said.

By now, three ski fields have been built in Altay, where the snow season lasts for more than half a year, attracting tourists from home and abroad. The fur skis, which have evolved from the travel tools for hunting into sports equipment, have enriched the winter tourism projects. The vigorous development of winter sports has brought the ancient craftmanship "back to life".