Sui Wenjing, with Han Cong, won the pairs figure skating gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Since then, Sui has been trying her hand at new roles: Choreographer, pursuing further studies, and participating in volunteer services. 

Sui's hometown, Harbin, in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, is the host of the 9th Asian Winter Games, from February 7-14, 2025. The Games' organizing committee appointed Sui "Volunteer Service Public Welfare Ambassador." 

Sui also served as a torchbearer, and a director for both the opening and closing ceremonies, for the Games. Sui is committed to telling Harbin's stories, sparking people's interest in winter sports, and providing volunteer services for the Games.

New Roles 

On February 19, 2022, Sui and Han performed to their routine song, "Bridge Over Troubled Water," during the Winter Olympics. With their performance, they won the gold medal, and they completed the "super slam" — winning both major junior-level international competitions, and all four major senior-level international competitions. They became the first pair to win the "super slam" in figure skating. 

In January 2023, Sui's autobiography, Beneath the Surface (of Ice), was published. She used the book to share her thoughts on the past, present and future. In the preface, she wrote she had more to discover, and expected more of her life, as she moved toward the future. 

In recent years, Sui has resumed her studies, in various fields. In April 2023, Sui passed the test, administered by the Chinese Figure Skating Association, and she obtained the State-level, technical-expert-qualification certificate. 

In January 2024, Sui was appointed a member of the Chinese Olympic Committee. In addition, Sui is pursuing a master's degree at Beijing Sport University. In September 2024, Sui enrolled in a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, in Beijing. 

Since 2022, Sui has given more than 20 lectures, combined, in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Gansu Province, and in East China's Anhui Province, to teach children about winter sports. Sui has also donated royalties from her book to the China Children and Teenagers' Fund, and she has served as a volunteer teacher for the Spring Bud Project. 

Sui has also served as a promotional ambassador on a China Women's Development Foundation project. In April 2024, Sui volunteered to teach during a project in Jishishan, a county in Gansu Province, where she helped the students choreograph a DanceSport program. 

Sui had dreamed of being a choreographer for a long time. Figure skating is often referred to as "ballet on the ice." A choreographer helps athletes present their skating skills by designing their dance moves and making music arrangements. 

Beginning in September 2022, Sui spent a year learning to be a choreographer at Beijing Dance Academy. Throughout 2023, Sui helped many young figure skaters choreograph their programs. With Sui's help, the skaters won many international awards. 

Telling China's Stories, Through Figure Skating 

Sui is fascinated by hanfu — the traditional clothing of China's Han ethnic group. She recalls how she was pleasantly surprised when she first wore hanfu a decade ago. "I couldn't even move my eyes from the mirror," she says. 

Since then, Sui has studied information, patterns and fabrics related to hanfu. "I am both obsessed with and proud of the 5,000-year-long Chinese civilization," Sui says. "I want to do my best to promote China's traditional culture, and hanfu culture." 

A dinner party is usually held on the final day of an international figure skating competition. Sui often dresses in hanfu, matching wigs and traditional accessories. Sui's foreign friends, captivated by the beauty of hanfu, often compliment her on her beautiful clothes. Sui has taught her international friends how to distinguish between hanfu and cheongsam. 

"Figure skating is a combination of strength and art, which serves as a perfect carrier to present the beauty of traditional Chinese culture," Sui says. 

In 2019, Sui began wearing hanfu-style outfits during her figure skating performances. In 2023, during the closing ceremony of the Cup of China International Skating Union Grand Prix of Figure Skating, held in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, the performance, Top of Mountain Tai, choreographed by Sui, amazed the audience. The performers wore clothes with Chinese ink-painting patterns, and the performance combined figure skating with elements of dances and Chinese tai chi. 

In recent years, an increasing number of Chinese figure skaters have presented Chinese-style performances in international arenas. 

Dream of Winter, Love Among Asia 

The 9th Asian Winter Games was held in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, in February, 2025. This is the third time China has hosted the Asian Winter Games, after the 1996 Harbin Asian Winter Games and the 2007 Changchun Asian Winter Games. It is also the first major international ice and snow sporting event held in China since the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Sui was excited about the Games, as they were held in her hometown. She shot a short video, City Walk in Harbin, to present the charm of her hometown to visitors, from both home and abroad. 

During the Games' preparatory period, Sui participated in numerous public-welfare activities. During an event to celebrate the 300-day countdown to the Games, held in April 2024, Sui and other champion athletes joined students, from 12 Asian countries, in singing One Dream, One Heart. 

On December 5, 2024, to mark International Volunteer Day, an event, themed "Dream of Winter, Together We Volunteer," was held. During that event, Sui was appointed "Volunteer Service Public Welfare Ambassador" for the Games. 

On February 3, 2025, during the torch relay for the Games, Sui concluded the relay as the final torchbearer. In addition, as one of the directors for the Games' opening and closing ceremonies, Sui worked with performers to present good shows to the audiences. 

"As time goes by, our story goes on. What happened in the past is remembered, and the future is awaiting us," says Sui. Her life's trajectory mirrors that comment. Sui has left an indelible mark on the history of world figure skating. The canvas of the future is slowly unfolding, and Sui is ready to write the new chapter in her life.

Photos from Interviewee and VCG

(Women of China English Monthly February 2025)

Editor: Wang Shasha