Xizang's winter sports star sets eyes on Olympics

LHASA — A new generation in the Xizang autonomous region is pursuing dreams across uncharted frontiers. One such trailblazer is 18-year-old Cidan Yuzhen, a rising star of ski mountaineering.

Born in 2006 in Luntse county, Lhokha city, she grew up in a family of farmers and herders. Her grandfather, once a serf in Chanang county, gained freedom after Xizang's democratic reform in 1959, and rebuilt his life in Luntse.

By the age of 7, Cidan Yuzhen was herding sheep and harvesting highland barley. On snow-draped grasslands over 3,800 meters above sea level, she traversed mountains, often scaling two peaks each day to graze livestock — unwittingly laying the foundation for her athletic future.