With Beijing just wishing farewell to one International Skating Union (ISU) event, another winter sports gala, the 2004 Cup of China - ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating - will be arriving on its heels in the capital next week.

Known for remarkable skating stills and astounding jumps, figure skating has always attracted crowds of spectators.

In the host countries of the Grand Prix, such as the US, Canada, France, Japan and Russia, the tickets for the competitions were all sold-out one year in advance.

Tickets went on sale in Beijing, where the event is being staged for a second time, at the end of September with 10,000 sold to date.

Strong entries

Undoubtedly, home favorites Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, winners of the 2002 and 2003 World Championships, are the strongest contenders for the pairs gold medals.

They won Skate Canada on Monday with their newly-choreographed program to the music of "The Soong Sisters."

Shen/Zhao's younger teammates Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao, who won Skate America last month, will try to attain the podium again on home soil with their lively performance to the music "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from the cartoon movie "The Beauty and Beast."

Russia's defending champion pairs Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin will probably miss the Beijing event after Totmianina suffered a severe injury at Skate America.

In the ladies' singles competition, many big names, such as Sasha Cohen from the US, Miki Ando from Japan and Irina Slutskaya from Russia, will be well supported by the eager crowds.

Cohen, the silver medallist of the 2004 Dortmund Figure Skating World Championships, will make her debut this season in the Chinese capital with her new program to the music of the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky.

She withdrew from Skate America due to a recurring back injury.

Slutskaya, the 2002 world champion, missed the 2003 World Championships due to the severe illness of her mother. Only starting practice again on a regular basis this January, the Russian champion, who invented the double Biellmann-spin with foot change, will make a strong come back in China.

The 17-year-old Ando was the 2004 world junior champion. She is the first female skater to land a quadruple jump (Salchow) in competition (ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, December 2002) and finished third in the earlier Skate America this season.

Stefan Lindemann from Germany, the bronze medallist of the 2004 World Championships, will shine in the men's pool, while China's Li Chengjiang, the first Chinese man to win an ISU Championship (Four Continents 2001), will also strive for gold.

In ice dancing, Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovski from Israel, the first Israeli skaters to win a medal at the World Championships (bronze in 2002), Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto from the US, the winners of the 2004 Four Continents, and Marie-France Dubreuil/Patrice Lauzon from Canada, the runners-up at the 2004 Four Continents, will compete for gold medals.

The 2004 Cup of China will be held in Beijing Capital Gymnasium from November 11 to 14, with ladies' singles, men's singles, pairs, ice dancing and an exhibition gala on the last day.

(China Daily November 3, 2004)