With Milano-Cortina 2026 just around the corner, the return of the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships to Beijing is staging a critical final rehearsal for China's best and the world's elite ahead of next month's Olympic challenge.

The annual championships, which were last hosted in the Chinese capital in 2003, will take place at the National Indoor Stadium from Jan 22-25, with over 100 skaters from 17 countries and regions attending, looking to fine tune their routines in an official competition one last time before the Games, which open in Milan on Feb 6.

Leading the host's charge will be legendary pair skaters Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, who have finished on top of the podium a record six times in the tournament's history.

After their gold-medal triumph at Beijing 2022, the veteran duo stepped away from competitive skating — each pursuing a second career off the ice — until making a surprising decision in June last year to return to competing.

They recently locked in their Olympic qualification spot with impressive performances at the Chinese national trial for their third Winter Olympic trip in Italy.

"Actually, for me, this wasn't a surprise," the 30-year-old Sui told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"I saw the challenges Chinese figure skating has faced during the Milan Olympic cycle. As an athlete, who was cultivated by my country, I feel I still have the strength and the responsibility to keep moving forward," Sui said. "My hope is to lead the sport and push it just a bit further for a little longer."

Sui and Han will skate to Bizet's Carmen: Habanera in the short program and to the music from Chinese dance drama A Tapestry of a Legendary Land in their free skate to keep polishing their artistic elements and technical details on home ice for the Olympic showdown.

China will also be represented in pairs skating by Zhang Jiaxuan and Huang Yihang, a young duo making their Four Continents debut.

Promoted to the senior ranks this season, the pair played a key role in earning China a national Olympic qualification quota place for Milano-Cortina in October, yet was outperformed by the seasoned pair of Sui and Han in the domestic Olympic trials.

The spotlight for women's singles will shine on teen prodigy Zhang Ruiyang, who secured China's national spot in the Olympic qualifying event and earned herself the ticket to represent her country in Milan at the domestic trials. The 18-year-old will test herself up against international heavyweights in the women's singles category this coming weekend before making her Olympic debut.

Two other Chinese women, An Xiangyi — who just recovered from an injury — and Beijing 2022 contender Zhu Yi will also feature in the singles on home ice.

In men's singles, veteran skater Jin Boyang anchors the Chinese team alongside Chen Yudong and Peng Zhiming. Jin aims to recapture the magic of his 2019 Four Continents silver-medal performance to boost his third Olympic campaign in Italy, while Chen and Peng are both looking to build international experience.

The ice dance field includes Olympic combo Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu, who are expecting to make the most of the home test to warm up for their performance in Milan. Younger ice dance pairs, Ren Junfei and Xing Jianing, and Xiao Zixi and He Linghao, will join the field as well.

As a crucial assessment for Olympic preparation, the tournament will feature a strong international cast, especially in the women's event which features 2023 Korean champion Lee Hae-in, US champion Bradie Tennell, and the returning Canadian star Gabrielle Daleman.

As for the pairs event, Japan's Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi will also be challenging Sui and Han for spots on the podium as they optimize their routines for Milan.

Qin Haotian contributed to the story