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Published: 14:19, February 03, 2023 | Updated: 14:20, February 03, 2023
Inspiring excellence
By Sun Xiaochen
Published:14:19, February 03, 2023 Updated:14:20, February 03, 2023 By Sun Xiaochen

In this undated file photo, residents take to the ice in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. (DING GENHOU / FOR CHINA DAILY)

One year since it opened to worldwide acclaim, legacies of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics have continued to fuel China's winter sports boom, with memories of the Games still relished by many.

With all the breathtaking action and inspirational stories now part of history, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, which opened on Feb 4 last year, is still having a lasting impact on winter sports promotion around the country, highlighted by the bustling scenes at ski resorts, skating rinks and ice and snow carnivals across the country during the recent Spring Festival holiday break.

Having impressed top Olympians with their sleek looks and world-class facilities, most of the official Beijing 2022 competition venues, which reopened to the public last year, have proved hot favorites among holiday destinations for their unique Olympic flavor and fun events programs.

An iconic dual-Olympic venue, the National Aquatics Center, which was built for the 2008 Summer Games (when it was nicknamed the "Water Cube"), was transformed to host curling at the winter edition last year. During the recent holiday break, from Jan 21-27, it welcomed over 30,000 visitors to cap its busiest, and perhaps most entertaining, public Spring Festival operation ever.

The center, re-dubbed the "Ice Cube" at Beijing 2022, opened an underground ice sports arena, which lies beneath its southern square and consists of two rinks, which are open to the public for entry-level curling practice, figure skating training and ice hockey games.

An iconic dual-Olympic venue, the National Aquatics Center, which was built for the 2008 Summer Games (when it was nicknamed the "Water Cube"), was transformed to host curling at the winter edition last year. During the recent holiday break, from Jan 21-27, it welcomed over 30,000 visitors to cap its busiest, and perhaps most entertaining, public Spring Festival operation ever

The authentic Olympic experience, in the shape of the high-standard ice surfaces and Beijing 2022 decor and setup, have proved a game-changer for the venue's business operation in the post-Olympic era.

"We want people to enjoy a truly immersive Games experience by visiting us, enabling them to learn more about curling and encouraging them to try the sport on ice," said Yang Qiyong, general manager of the aquatics center.

Developed for swimming and diving competitions at the 2008 Games, the venue turned itself into a multifunctional arena capable of switching from aquatic to ice sports in 2021 through a reversible project, which involved filling the pool with steel structures to support an ice surface above.

ALSO READ: Winter sports lovers enjoy Olympic venues

After impressing the world's best curling athletes at Beijing 2022, Yang said, "Now it's time for us to engage the public as much as possible to keep the momentum from the Olympics going."

About a 40-minute drive to the northwest of downtown Beijing, located on Xiaohaituo Mountain, is the National Alpine Ski Center in the city's suburban Yanqing district, which hosted all alpine events at Beijing 2022. It has become the newest and most convenient destination for the increasing number of skiing enthusiasts in the capital.

During the seven-day holiday, over 20,000 customers visited the mountain cluster, which also includes the National Sliding Center that hosted luge, bobsled and skeleton events, to enjoy the fun of skiing down 14 slopes that had thrilled Olympic skiers last year, as well as an adrenaline-pumping bobsled ride down the sliding center's twisting ice track.

Ticket sales and hotel revenues in the area exceeded 10 million yuan ($1.48 million) over the first five days of the Lunar New Year, according to the district government, kicking the venue's post-Olympic operation off to a flying start.

Inspired by the host delegation's victorious campaign at Beijing 2022, where Team China bagged a record haul of 15 medals, including nine golds, winter sports participation is also taking over mountain resorts in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, which co-hosted the Games with Beijing.

Genting Snow Park, located in Zhangjiakou's mountainous Chongli district, reached its peak season during the Spring Festival break, welcoming over 5,000 skiers and snowboarders every day who were attracted by its Olympic-standard slopes that hosted freestyle skiing and snowboarding competitions at Beijing 2022.

Wang Shitong, the resort's general manager for mountain operations, said the Olympic facilities and upgraded services at the venue have hugely benefited business recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this undated file photo, a group of ice climbers of different age groups challenge themselves on an icefall at Yunmengxia Valley in Beijing's Miyun district. (WEI XIAOHAO / CHINA DAILY)

Since the beginning of the winter season in mid-November, Genting Snow Park, located in Zhangjiakou's mountainous Chongli district, has opened 41 snow courses to the public, including three that hosted the parallel giant slalom, cross and slopestyle skiing and snowboarding competitions at Beijing 2022

"Having served the world's best athletes as an Olympic venue definitely gives us a huge advantage, both from a marketing and an operational standpoint," Wang said.

ALSO READ: Beijing 2022 legacies reflected in winter sports boom

"Our whole team, from snowmaking and course building to emergency response, has improved greatly thanks to the hands-on involvement in operations during the Olympics, so that technically, the experiences we now offer to our customers are on the next level."

Since the beginning of the winter season in mid-November, Genting has opened 41 snow courses to the public, including three that hosted the parallel giant slalom, cross and slopestyle skiing and snowboarding competitions at Beijing 2022.

Resounding acclaim

Citing Beijing 2022's legacy of promoting winter sports in the world's most populous nation, the International Olympic Committee, or IOC, and major international governing bodies for winter sports have said the Games will go down in history for permanently changing the landscape of ice and snow sports.

According to a report by China's General Administration of Sport, more than 346 million Chinese took part in winter sports and related activities before the Games began, opening a huge untapped market.

"China wrote a new chapter in Olympic history by hosting the truly exceptional Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022," IOC president Thomas Bach said in a video address at the opening of China's ninth annual public ice and snow festival in December.

The Games opened a new era for winter sports globally, driven by the enthusiasm of more than 300 million Chinese people who are now engaged in snow and ice sports, Bach added.

Kim Jae-youl, president of the International Skating Union, said he expects China to play a more prominent role in promoting ice sports at grassroots and elite levels.

ALSO READ: A winter sports wonderland, inspired by the Olympics

"The growth of the national public ice and snow festival in the past eight years reflects the growing interest in winter sports in China, and the investment involved," Kim said in a congratulatory message to the festival's opening.

The closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games is held at the National Stadium in Beijing on March 13, 2022. (FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY)

The Beijing 2022 Winter Games opened a new era for winter sports globally, driven by the enthusiasm of more than 300 million Chinese people who are now engaged in snow and ice sports, said IOC president Thomas Bach 

In a final review, the IOC's Coordination Commission for Beijing 2022 gave the Chinese capital's smooth and safe organization of arguably the most sophisticated sporting event in the world, despite the pandemic, a thumbs-up.

"In addition to delivering a safe and successful Games, the organizing committee's ambitious vision and promises were achieved and exceeded," said Juan Antonio Samaranch, chair of the coordination commission and an IOC vice-president.

To address challenges posed by the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19, Beijing's decision to stage the Games under a "closed loop management system" provided a feasible and flexible way to guarantee safe delivery of the event on time.

Although ticket sales to the public were canceled, the Beijing 2022 organizing committee went to great lengths to ensure the presence of a total of 260,000 spectators at competition venues to generate a friendly and familiar atmosphere for athletes.

With the use of safe and high-quality venues, two world and 17 Olympic records were broken during the 16 days of competition, which produced a record total of 109 gold medals. More than 2,800 athletes from 91 countries and regions took part in the Games.

READ MORE: Legacies of Winter Olympics drive sports boom

Sustainability and legacy were the other key contributors to the success of Beijing 2022, the report said, adding that all the Games venues were powered by renewable energy for the first time in Olympic history.

"The people of China were exceptional hosts who offered immense hospitality, warmth and kindness," said the report.

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