On January 24, the 2019 "Duolun Nor Cup" Test Event for Ice Dragon Boat Racing of the 14th National Winter Games, with the theme of "Welcoming the 14th

 National Winter Games and Supporting the Winter Olympics", kicked off at the Ice Dragon Boat Race Venue in Longze Lake Park, Duolun County, Xilin Gol League.

Hosted by the Winter Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, the Sports Bureau of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous

 Region, and the Administrative Office of Xilin Gol League, this event was co-organized by the Bureau of Culture, Sports, Press, Publication, Radio, Film

 and Television of Xilin Gol League, the Tourism Development Committee of Xilin Gol League, the People's Government of Duolun County, and the Cultural

 Tourism Investment and Development Co., Ltd. of Xilin Gol League. It attracted over 500 athletes from over 30 teams across 14 provinces and cities,

 including Beijing, Henan, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, and Inner Mongolia.

The competition included 100-meter and 200-meter straight-track races (with helm) in three categories: Juvenile Mixed Group, Youth Mixed Group, 

and Open Mixed Group, each with 12-person and 5-person boat lineups.

Over the past two days, the temperature in Duolun has dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius. Despite the bitter cold, the athletes still 

mustered their energy and strived for the top, making the competition extremely intense.

As Inner Mongolia hosts the 14th National Winter Games, Duolun County is leveraging its unique ice and snow resources to build

the "Duolun Nor" brand as a cradle of ice dragon boat racing. It aims to develop ice and snow sports in Inner Mongolia,foster nationalice and snow

 event brands, enhance Inner Mongolia'sMongolia's competitive level in ice and snow sports, and strive to build the ice and

snow tourism industry into a distinctive competitive industry—turning ""white snow into silver"" and making these""cold"" resources more

 ""popular"" and ""thriving"".

Including ice dragon boat racing in the 2020 14th National Winter Games marks a milestone in developing this sport in China. The holding 

of this test event has raised Chineseice dragon boat races to a new level. The 2019 Test Event and its series for the 14th National Winter Games serve as solid

 preparation for the Games and stand as another  testament to the vigorous development of ice dragon boat racing in China.