# Asian Winter Games

The Asian Winter Games (AWG) is an international multi-sport event held every four years for members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) featuring winter events. The Japanese Olympic Committee first suggested creating a winter version of the Asian Games in 1982. Their efforts were rewarded when they received hosting rights for the first edition, held in Sapporo in 1986, as the city had the infrastructure and expertise gained from hosting of the 1972 Winter Olympics.
From having only seven OCA member nations participate in the first edition, the number of competing nations in the Winter Asiad has grown consistently. In the 2007 Asian Winter Games in Changchun, 27 out of the 45 members fielded a record number of competitors, while all 45 National Olympic Committees sent delegations for the first time in AWG history.
Although games were considered for Lebanon in 2009, they were ultimately cancelled. The next edition is scheduled to be held in Neom, Saudi Arabia in 2029.

## List of Asian Winter Games

| Edition | Year | Host city | Host nation | Opened by | Start date | End date | Nations | Competitors | Sports | Events | Top-placed team |
| 1 | 1986 | Sapporo | Japan | Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah | 1 March | 8 March | 7 | 293 | 7 | 35 | Japan |
| 2 | 1990 | Sapporo | Japan | Emperor Akihito | 9 March | 14 March | 9 | 310 | 6 | 33 | Japan |
| 3 | 1996 | Harbin | China | President Jiang Zemin | 4 February | 11 February | 17 | 453 | 8 | 43 | China |
| 4 | 1999 | Gangwon | South Korea | President Kim Dae-jung | 30 January | 6 February | 14 | 798 | 7 | 43 | China |
| 5 | 2003 | Aomori | Japan | Crown Prince Naruhito | 1 February | 8 February | 17 | 641 | 11 | 51 | Japan |
| 6 | 2007 | Changchun | China | President Hu Jintao | 28 January | 4 February | 25 | 796 | 10 | 47 | China |
| 7 | 2011 | Astana and Almaty | Kazakhstan | President Nursultan Nazarbayev | 30 January | 6 February | 26 | 843 | 11 | 69 | Kazakhstan |
| 8 | 2017 | Sapporo and Obihiro | Japan | Crown Prince Naruhito | 19 February | 26 February | 32 | 1,147 | 11 | 64 | Japan |
| 9 | 2025 | Harbin | China | President Xi Jinping | 7 February | 14 February | 34 | 1,222 | 11 | 64 | China |
| 10 | 2029 | Neom | Saudi Arabia | TBD | | | | | | | |
* At the 2017 Games, the Olympic Council of Asia invited athletes from Oceania. Two countries from the region (Australia and New Zealand) accepted the invitation and their athletes competed along with 30 NOCs from Asia.

## Sports

| Sport | Years |
| Alpine skiing | All |
| Bandy | 2011 |
| Biathlon | All |
| Cross-country skiing | All |
| Curling | 2003–2007, since 2017 |
| Figure skating | 1986, since 1996 |
| Freestyle skiing | 1996, since 2003 |
| Ice hockey | All |
| Short-track speed skating | All |
| Ski jumping | 2003, 2011-2017 |
| Ski mountaineering | 2025 |
| Ski orienteering | 2011 |
| Snowboarding | 2003–2007, since 2017 |
| Speed skating | All |

## Medal count

As of 2025, the 34 National Olympic Committees have participated throughout the history of the Games. Only China, Japan, and South Korea have won at least one gold medal at every Asian Winter Games, while Japan, China, and Kazakhstan became the only three countries in history to emerge as the first places at the medal tables.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Japan | 148 | 156 | 130 | 434 |
| 2 | China | 126 | 112 | 131 | 369 |
| 3 | South Korea | 90 | 98 | 106 | 294 |
| 4 | Kazakhstan | 82 | 71 | 62 | 215 |
| 5 | Uzbekistan | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 6 | North Korea | 1 | 5 | 12 | 18 |
| 7 | Lebanon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Philippines | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Mongolia | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| 10 | Iran | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 11 | Chinese Taipei | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | Kyrgyzstan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | Thailand | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (13 entries) | Totals (13 entries) | 451 | 447 | 456 | 1,354 |