Yongdeng, 6, practises his moves on a hill in Hemu village.

High hopes

His sons, aged 16 and 20, know how use both fur and modern skis because they often visit a ski resort close to their house. "They are quite good at skiing actually, but I want them to learn how to make fur skis, just as my father taught me."

"Snowboards are much easier to master than our traditional skis," said Sengelite. He and nine others from Hemu, including Yongdeng, will represent the village at the 2014 traditional skiing contest, which will be held at a resort in Altay on Jan 16.

Many ski resorts have been built in Altay since it was declared the birthplace of skiing and the local government has also been promoting the sports among school children.

"I will start teaching my son to snowboard when we get to the ski slopes - maybe someday he will become the first Chinese Tuvan to win an Olympic gold medal?" he smiled.