On the back of the country's recent Winter Olympics success in Italy, China's policy advisors and legislators from the sports community have lauded the impressive Milano-Cortina 2026 campaign as a strong boost for the nation's sporting ambitions.

As China progressively rolls out its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) to accelerate social and economic development on all fronts, the mission of building China into a world-class sporting powerhouse, highlighted in a government work report submitted to the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress on Thursday, is gaining attention during the two sessions, the annual meetings of the NPC, China's top legislature, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the national political advisory body.

Active and retired athletes, sports officials and notable figures attending, as either NPC deputies or CPPCC National Committee members, have weighed in with suggestions and proposals to help facilitate the vision, with particular emphasis on the promotion of the winter sports industry, mass fitness and physical education.

Wang Yongfeng, captain of the Chinese mountaineering team and a member of the CPPCC National Committee's sports panel, hails the "spirit of climbing" as a driving force for realizing the powerhouse goal.

The "spirit of climbing", embodied by Chinese athletes overcoming various challenges to achieve the nation's best medal haul at an overseas Winter Olympics last month in Italy, should be promoted across the sports sector, Wang said before the opening of the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of CPPCC on Wednesday.

"For decades, the fearless and tenacious spirit of climbing has been passed down from one generation of mountaineers to the next," Wang said during an interview at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

"Whether it's about pushing for breakthroughs on the Olympic stage, promoting mass fitness campaign at the grassroots level or pursuing Chinese-style modernization, as long as we uphold this spirit, stay focused on our goals, stay grounded, and march forward with courage and perseverance, there will be no dangerous peaks we cannot scale, no dreams we cannot realize," said Wang, who is also a vice-chairman of the Chinese Mountaineering Association.

As one of China's mountaineering pioneers, Wang has scaled Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest peak, multiple times and was a key leg in the historic Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games' torch relay to the top of Qomolangma in May 2008.

The pursuit for excellence at a higher level has been a powerful driving force behind China's sports progress, Wang said, adding that Team China's impressive campaign at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics last month was a strong embodiment of the spirit.

Led by speed skating Olympic champion Ning Zhongyan and freestyle skiing star Gu Ailing, Chinese athletes won a total 15 medals, including five gold, at the Games, bringing home the country's best ever haul from an overseas Winter Olympics since its Winter Games debut in 1980 at Lake Placid, New York.

Ren Ziwei, an NPC deputy and a former member on the Chinese national short-track speed skating team, said he drew strength from watching his compatriots' performances in Milan to continue contributing to the country's promotion of winter sports in his new role.

Since his retirement from competition in November, 28-year-old Ren, who lifted the nation with his men's 1,000m gold at Beijing 2022 and has four world championships medals to his name, has taken over as head coach of the municipal short-track team of Chongqing.

Born and raised in northeastern Heilongjiang province, Ren's involvement with a team located in the warmer southwestern region of the country — once considered a winter sports wilderness — and helping it catch up with the nationwide ice and snow sports boom is inspiring.

"I'm all settled in at the grassroots level and, hopefully, through my efforts, I can help make winter sports more popular in southern cities, particularly among children," he said.