Reporter | Chen Dingrui
For Beijing, the world's only "city of the Two Olympics", the atmosphere of large-scale sports events has long been lost.
The last time a sports match here could usher in a crowded stadium was two years ago: on December 6, 2019, at the freezing Workers' Stadium, Beijing Guoan "let two chase three" in the final round of the Chinese Super League that season, defeating the visiting Shandong Luneng Taishan with a 3-2 reversal.
When the youngster Wang Ziming presented a victory in the stoppage time, the Workers' Stadium, which had the record of the third highest attendance of the season with 51,708 people, instantly opened the boiling mode. With a perfect exclamation point, the Royal ForestErs bid farewell to the old home stadium that was about to begin the renovation work.
The subsequent changes in the world do not need to be repeated, whether it is Chinese football or domestic sports events, it has been reduced to an "island" for a long time.
Now, the long wait has finally echoed, and as the decorative lights of various Olympic venues are lit up in the winter night in Beijing, the flame of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics has entered the final countdown.
Three competition areas, three Winter Olympic villages and 12 high-quality competition venues (including training halls) will become a witness to the world's practice of "higher, faster, stronger and more united" once again in the special period.
National Speed Skating Hall "Ice Ribbon"
Let's take a look at the Beijing Municipal Competition Area, which is home to six venues:
On the morning of January 13, 2022, the Information Office of the State Council held a press conference to introduce the green winter Olympics and sustainable development work of the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Liu Yumin, director of the Planning and Construction Department of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, said that the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics used the 2008 venue heritage to the greatest extent, including the National Stadium, the National Aquatics Center, the National Gymnasium and the Wukesong Gymnasium, etc., all of which realized the switch from the Summer Olympic Games to the Winter Olympic Games, "In addition, there are some land heritages in 2008, the temporary venue hockey stadium was built into a speed skating hall during the Winter Olympics, and the land used like the Beijing Winter Olympic Village, the International Media Center and so on. They were all reserved in advance in 2008. ”
As Minister Liu Yumin said, many of the venues of the Beijing Winter Olympics symbolize the inheritance of the city of the Two Olympic Games: the National Stadium, which will not let renzhi become the center of the opening and closing ceremonies, will carry the artistic expression of Zhang Yimou, the general director of the opening and closing ceremonies, after 14 years; the National Aquatics Center, which was originally nicknamed "Water Cube", will be transformed into an "Ice Cube" with the support of modern technology, as a competition venue for curling and wheelchair curling The Capital Gymnasium, which owns the first artificial indoor ice rink in China and has hosted the volleyball competitions of the Beijing Summer Olympic Games, will undertake the task of short track speed skating and figure skating; as for the National Gymnasium and Wukesong Sports Center, which served competitive gymnastics, trampoline, handball and basketball 14 years ago, respectively, will become the stage of ice hockey battles this winter.
Unlike these old faces who have walked through the four seasons from the Summer Olympics, the Shougang Ski Jump in the west of the city and the National Speed Skating Hall in the north of the city will intersect with the Olympic Games for the first time as a new venue.
The National Speed Skating Hall, also known as the "Ice Ribbon", is the only new ice competition venue for the Winter Olympics. It will host the speed skating event, and 14 gold medals will be determined, making it the single venue with the largest number of gold medals produced in this event. The "Ice Ribbon", with a construction area of about 80,000 square meters, is also the first speed skating venue in the history of the Winter Olympics to use carbon dioxide as a refrigerant.
The Shougang Ski Jump, which just passed the IOC audit on January 13, is the first newly built venue to be completed in the Beijing area of this year's event, and the only snow competition venue. This "crystal shoe" venue will host snowboarding and freestyle ski jumping events, and four gold medals will be awarded.
Let's look at the Yanqing Division, which is dominated by two "centers":
The National Alpine Ski Center, located on the southwest slope of the main peak of Xiaohaituo Mountain in the northwest of Yanqing District, mainly undertakes alpine skiing events. The center has 7 pistes, including a peak departure area, an intermediate platform, a race ending song and a distribution plaza. Snowmaking work began last November.
The National Bobsleigh Centre, a venue for bobsleigh, bobsleigh and steel-framed bobsleigh events. There are 16 curves with different angles and slopes, and the "Meet in Beijing" Olympic Games test match was held in October last year.
Finally, let's talk about the snow venue of Zhangjiakou, the "Saiwai Mountain City":
The National Ski Jumping Center, nicknamed "Snow Ruyi", is the first ski jumping venue in China to meet international standards, and its shape was designed by the design team of Tsinghua University. During the Winter Olympics, it will host biathlon and ski jumping events.
Genting Ski Park, located in the Dama Mountains at the intersection of Taihang Mountain and Yanshan Mountain, has an average annual temperature of about 3 degrees Celsius and a snow accumulation time of 150 days. There are six tracks that will host snowboarding and freestyle skiing (except for big jumps).
The National Biathlon Center, located in the valley on the northeast side of the Prince City area of Chongli District, is arranged in turn with a range, a track and a starting and ending area, and a venue technical building. The venue will host biathlon competitions.
The National Cross-Country SkiIng Center, located in the valley south of the Dead Poplar Stadium Complex, has a total length of 9.7 kilometers, and the competitions are cross-country skiing and Nordic biathlon. Previously, the second Ice and Snow Games of Hebei Province has been successfully held here.
From 2008 to 2022, when the plans that were once written in the bidding report were fulfilled one by one, Beijing, as the only designated "city of the two Olympic Games", was ready for the Winter Olympics.