The heat is on

If Gu appears on top of the pipe in Yabuli as expected, with the official Chinese delegation yet to be announced, no one seems a legitimate threat against the reigning Olympic champion in her attempt to potentially claim the first gold at the Games.

Standing alongside Gu in aiming for a podium finish in freeski will be emerging contender Liu Mengting, who just won her first career World Cup title in another discipline — big air — in Klagenfurt, Austria, on Saturday, with the 20-year-old stomping two solid runs to edge out Italian star Flora Tabanelli and Germany's Muriel Mohr in the final.

"I'm so happy. My first World Cup win, it's so cool. I can't wait for more," said an elated Liu, who became China's second women's big air World Cup winner after Gu's victory in the 2020-21 season.

China will also bid for dominance in freestyle skiing aerials, its traditional strength event, with Olympic champions Xu Mengtao and her male counterpart Qi Guangpu both expected to star in Yabuli.

As a long-time world-class winter sports contender on the international stage, China's East Asian neighbor Japan is likely to flex its muscles in a variety of events, such as speed skating, figure skating and snowboarding, and offer Chinese hopefuls an invaluable opportunity to test their mettle against the world's best.

It will be Harbin's second time staging the continental gala event, following its maiden outing as host in 1996, and the third edition to be held in China after the 2007 Asian Winter Games in Changchun, Jilin province.

All the competition venues are existing facilities, and all the refurbishment and equipment upgrades needed to meet international standards were completed by the end of last year.