CHANGCHUN -- The 23rd China Changchun Jingyuetan Vasaloppet International Ski Festival opened in Changchun, the capital of Northeast China's Jilin province, on Saturday.

The event brought together over 2,000 professional athletes and ski enthusiasts from across the globe, including participants from China, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Finland, and Germany.

Czech cross-country skier Fabian Stocek defended his title in men's 50km with 2:05:22.914, 17.567 seconds ahead of Swedish skier Hallen Johansson, who claimed silver. Lorenzo Busin of Italy took bronze.

"This is my fifth time to Vasaloppet China," said Stocek. "Today is sunny, and not too cold, in the past was much colder, and the landscape is nice."

In the women's 50km race, Swedish skier Malin Borjesjo claimed victory with a time of 2:25:31.309, while Chinese skiers Li Lei and Chi Chunxue took silver and bronze, respectively.

The Vasaloppet International Ski Festival, originating in Sweden, is one of the world's largest cross-country skiing events. In 2003, Vasaloppet China was introduced in Changchun, becoming the fourth global venue for the festival after Sweden, Japan and the United States.

Since 2014, Vasaloppet China has been an official member of Worldloppet, the world's premier long-distance cross-country skiing organization. Over the past decade, Jingyuetan has become a hub for elite skiers from around the world.

"I think it has been a tremendous development among the Chinese people towards winter sports. The first time we did a winter sports event in China in 2003, most people in China, really didn't know what the winter sport was," said Niclas Hellqvist, Managing Director of Nordic Ways. "Now I think so many Chinese people really enjoy winter sports or at least they want to try once a year."

Chinese skier Li Fan, participating for the sixth time, expressed excitement about the competition. "It's thrilling to compete alongside so many international athletes and high-level skiers. This year, I came with four fellow ski enthusiasts. If possible, I'd love to return every year," said Li.

Beyond the races, Jingyuetan has collaborated with several universities in Changchun to provide public welfare training in cross-country skiing. More than half a million students have trained here since 2005.

"I'm very glad to see that more and more young skiers start skiing at a very young age. That's also one of our long-term targets," said Born Lind, a former Swedish cross-country skier who won two golds at the Turin Winter Olympics and Company Event Director of Nordic Ways.