"I saved 2,000 yuan out of my 3,500 yuan salary every month in 2015. And my father also sponsored me with around 10,000 yuan," Zhang recalls of those difficult but happy days.

His efforts paid off and, representing China, he came 16th in the Cardrona Games.

"Competing with world-class snowboarders at the Cardrona Games made me wonder if it would be possible to qualify for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics," Zhang says, adding that even if it was just 1 percent of a possibility, he decided to fight for it.

"When my journey to the Olympics ended, I might have been a little sad, but I had no regrets, because I gained more－making many friends, seeing beautiful places and gaining the recognition and support from people that I do not even know," Zhang says.

Behind his passion for snowboarding, Zhang admits that he has experienced severe injuries: three concussions, two broken hands, collapsed lungs (twice) and torn ligaments in his right leg.

He still remembers the time he broke his hands after he tried an "inverted S 720" from a 15-meter wall.

"The moment I landed on my hands, I heard them snap, but didn't feel pain, instead, I was glad that I did it! In fact, those were the last words I said before losing consciousness," Zhang says.

But his love for snowboarding hasn't been hindered by the injuries or difficulties. His next dream is to snowboard down every snowcapped mountain in the world.

In his friends' eyes, Zhang is crazy about the sport. "It has changed his life," Liu Jinglei, one of his friends, was quoted as saying by China Youth Daily.

"Looking back for the past decade, I realize how snowboarding has changed my life－first time traveling by plane, first time going abroad and first time seeing the ocean," Zhang says.

Contact the writer at wangqian@chinadaily.com.cn