Ice sports, or "playing on ice" in ancient times, are various ice and snow games. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, some of ethnic minorities in north China already mastered ice-skating and skiing skills. Initially, they would stand on something called a "bamboo horse" when skating, holding wooden sticks for support.

Over 1,400 years ago, people in Daxing'anling discovered that if a wooden board (4 feet long, 5 inches wide) was tied to each foot, one could run very fast on snow. The game, called "riding on wood" at that time, was the early form of skiing. In the Song Dynasty, there appeared something called "ice bed", which was a wooden board several people could sit on. One person would pull the board, making it slide on ice.

Due to the important position ice and snow sports held in life and work as well as their unique functions in military affairs, ice sports were popular in the Qing Dynasty, after the Manchurians entered the Shanhaiguan Pass. The imperial court even listed the sports as "National Customs of the Great Qing Dynasty", along with the national language, horsemanship, archery and wrestling. In December of each year, a "grand ceremony of ice sports" would be routinely held. At the ceremony, the emperor would be on hand to inspect the troops under the "Eight Banners" (military-administrative organizations of the Manchurian minority in the Qing Dynasty) in terms of ice sports skills. Their performance therefore became a criterion for assessing their achievements in winter training.