High-end ice and snow gear from Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province, is surging onto world markets as the ongoing Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics fuel a boom in sports equipment demand.
The Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics are underway from February 6 through 22, with events held in the famous cultural city of Milan and the Alpine mountain town of Cortina d'Ampezzo. The Games feature about 2,900 athletes from around the world, with a total of 116 gold medals up for grabs.
At a sports equipment manufacturing company in Xiamen, various ski poles are on display, some of which are the same models used by Winter Olympic athletes.
Zhang Xionghui, person in charge of the company, said that the company targeted the niche carbon fiber ski pole market from the very beginning and is now a major global supplier of high-end carbon fiber ski poles.
"Last year, we exported about 40 million RMB (about 5.76 million US dollars) worth of goods, totaling about 600,000 pairs of ski poles," Zhang said.
Another sports equipment manufacturer in Xiamen is rushing against time to make a batch of helmets, gloves, and other ice hockey protective equipment.
Ye Xiaoling, the person in charge, said that the equipment was customized for overseas clients and needed to be shipped to North America before March.
"In 2025, we produced more than 80,000 sets of ice hockey equipment and 150,000 to 160,000 pieces of sports protective equipment and accessories," Ye said.
Data shows that in 2025, the total export volume of ski equipment reached 220 million yuan (over 31.7 million US dollars) in Fujian, a year-on-year increase of 51.6 percent.
Winter Olympics fuel global demand for Xiamen's high‑end snow gear
