Beijing, January 27 (China News Network) -- The Winter Olympics will kick off on February 4, and Beijing will become the first "double Olympic city" to host both the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics. After more than six years of intensive preparations, even if it is a sudden challenge of the epidemic, Beijing and even China are ready to present a simple, safe and wonderful Winter Olympics to the world.
On January 25, the "Haituo Pagoda" undertaken by the Third Company of China Construction Second Bureau was successfully completed, and the five Olympic rings shone in the Yanqing Winter Olympic Games Area. Courtesy of China Construction Second Bureau And Three Companies
Back in 2015, IOC President Bach solemnly announced that Beijing had been granted the right to host the 24th Winter Olympics. Yao Ming, who was Beijing's 2022 ambassador at the time, likened Chinese sports to a "big bonfire" in an interview. "It just takes a little bit of Mars to ignite it, basketball has done it, now it's the turn of the ice and snow." He said.
Today, the bonfire is burning. Through the raging flames, we can clearly see that the preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics have also walked through a road of blue wisps and thorns. In the face of many challenges, Beijing and even China have responded with practical actions.
The picture shows tourists skiing at the ski slopes of Chongli. Photo by Zhai Yujia
Ice and snow are the "soul" of the Winter Olympics, but the technologies related to snowmaking, snow preservation and snow storage have long been monopolized by foreign countries. After the successful bid for the Beijing Winter Olympics, a group of scientific and technological workers rose to the occasion and issued a "military order", not only independently creating China's ice-like snow track, but also developing efficient snow storage technology to achieve green "freedom of use of snow".
The Chongli Competition Area of this Winter Olympic Games is located in Chongli County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province. But the once mining county once had a forest coverage rate of only 15 percent, and at the end of 2015 it was only 52 percent. How can international events be held in such an environment? Chongli worked hard. Since the successful bid for the Olympic Games, Chongli has completed a total of 1.2913 million mu of various afforestation projects, and the forest coverage rate of the whole region has reached 71.53%. Among them, afforestation of 59,900 mu was implemented in the core area of the event, and the forest coverage rate reached 81.02%.
On October 6, 2021, autumn snow fell in the Zhangjiakou Division of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, and the snow scene of the "Snow Ruyi" of the National Ski Jumping Center in Chongli District was taken aerialally. Photo by Wu Diansen, China News Service Image source: CNSPHOTO
Once upon a time, air quality was also considered a major disadvantage to Beijing's bid to host the Winter Olympics. Over the years, the air quality in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has continued to improve. According to the data released by Beijing, under the condition of synchronous improvement of regional air quality and favorable meteorological conditions compared with the usual year, the annual average concentration of PM2.5 in Beijing's atmospheric environment will drop to 33 micrograms per cubic meter in 2021, and PM2.5 and ozone will reach the national standard.
On January 12, in Chongli District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, the Beijing Winter Olympics logo stood on the side of the road. Chongli ushered in snowfall on the 11th, and the atmosphere of the Chongli Winter Olympics after the snow was strong. China News Service reporter Jia Tianyong photographed
Once upon a time, it took hours to travel from Beijing to the furthest area of the Winter Olympics. The completion and opening of the high-speed rail will greatly shorten the commuting time between the races. The opening of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway makes it only take 26 minutes from Beijing to Yanqing and 50 minutes to Zhangjiakou. The opening of the Jingli Expressway has shortened the transfer time from Yanqing to Zhangjiakou from the original two and a half hours to 50 minutes, and also shortened the time from the beijing sixth ring road to Zhangjiakou from the original 3 hours.
"Bringing 300 million people to ice and snow sports" – a grand goal set by Beijing when it bid to host the Winter Olympics – has also been gradually achieved over the years. Since Beijing's successful bid for the 2015 Winter Olympics, as of October 2021, the number of participants in ice and snow sports nationwide has reached 346 million.
On January 20, the construction of temporary facilities in the public area of the Olympic Park of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games has been completed, with a total area of about 41,000 square meters, including event services, catering service areas, volunteer homes, medical stations and other rooms. The picture shows the large-scale art landscape "Five Rings" in the public area of the Olympic Park, and the "Five Rings" will present different landscape effects day and night. China News Service reporter Zhang Yu photographed
In 2020, China's economy successfully staged a "V" rebound after suffering from the sudden test of the epidemic. In 2021, China's economy will take the lead in recovery. These have laid a solid foundation for the successful hosting of the Winter Olympic Games.
The pandemic is still profoundly affecting the world. Combined with the effective experience of epidemic prevention and control and the latest scientific research achievements, and absorbing the important experience of recent international sports events, the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee and the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee issued the second edition of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Olympic And Paralympic Epidemic Prevention Manual at the end of 2021, formulating epidemic prevention guidelines for all stakeholders to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Beijing Winter Olympics have the confidence to do a good job in the prevention and control of the epidemic through strict closed-loop management and strict personal protection measures.
In response to the recent attempts by individual politicians in a few countries to politicize the Winter Olympics, many countries and international organizations around the world have expressed their support for the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the voices opposing the politicization of sports are getting louder and stronger. IOC President Bach has repeatedly expressed his firm support for the Beijing Winter Olympics to be held as scheduled.
Today, the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics is just around the corner. On the first day of the opening of the three Winter Olympic villages of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, the advance personnel of more than 20 delegations from China, Britain, Australia, Canada, Finland and the United States were welcomed. IOC President Bach has also arrived in Beijing to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics and related events.
On January 20, the urban landscape arrangement of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games was completed, and many landscapes lit up to add luster to the upcoming Winter Olympic games. The picture shows the "Green Winter Olympics" themed flower bed located in the northeast corner of Dongdan. Photo by Li Jun, a reporter from China News Network
In the early morning of January 25, more than 100 athletes and coach representatives from the Chinese sports delegation to the Beijing Winter Olympics came to Tiananmen Square to watch the flag-raising ceremony and take the oath. Chinese athletes are looking forward to handing over a satisfactory report card at the Winter Olympics on their doorstep.
The "big test" of the Winter Olympics does not stop at the arena. More than six years of preparation time, Chinese determination to run the Winter Olympics well. Beijing will provide an excellent showcase for athletes from all over the world. The avenue is not alone, and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will surely become a grand event for Winter Olympic athletes and ice and snow sports enthusiasts. With the fireworks blooming over the "Bird's Nest" on February 4, China is ready to "hand over the questionnaire", and the world is also paying close attention to this "answer sheet".
"Together for the future", we have reason to believe that under the guidance of the Olympic spirit and the joint efforts of all parties, Beijing will certainly be able to present a "simple, safe and wonderful" Olympic event for the world.
The opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics is imminent, and in the face of this "examination paper", China is ready! (End)