What sport is skating?

Skating, also known as "ice play", is the general name of ice activities of ancient Han people. It existed in the Song Dynasty and became a court sport in the Ming Dynasty. Skating is mainly performed during the Spring Festival. Skating includes roller skates, snatch (a kind of racing event similar to speed skating), ball grabbing, dragon racquet, slide step and so on.

Ice entertainment began in Yuan and Ming Dynasties and flourished in Qing Dynasty. After Manchu entered the Central Plains, they also brought the common ice games in the north to Beijing, and combined them with ice activities in the colder areas in the north of the Central Plains, forming a series of ice games over time.

Skating is a very popular royal winter entertainment in Qing Dynasty. In the early years of Qing dynasty, soldiers once entered the army. The Qing court regarded a series of ice activities as military training and set up special jurisdiction over skaters. Over time, the purpose of military training gradually faded, and the entertainment gradually appeared. The ice show in the Palace Museum depicts the grand occasion of the ice show in Qing Dynasty. It was painted by court painters Zhang Weibang and Yao during the Qianlong period, which vividly and intuitively described the ice opera movement.