Altay, the Cradle of Skiing Posted on November 22, 2018November 22, 2018 A New Chinese and English Bilingual Book of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Winter Olympics in 2022 The Author of "Altay, The Cradle of Skiing” Mr. Shan Zhaojian is the first national ski champion in China. After years of research, advocacy and hard-working, Mr. Shan confirmed that the world's ski origins were in the Altay region of Xinjiang, China. Posted in Uncategorized.