Chongli, Hebei, February 3 (Xinhua) -- Blue sky, white snow, cold air, orderly inside and outside the venue, began another day of work... This is the reverence I am familiar with. On the 4th, the Beijing Winter Olympics will finally open the curtain, and the past few years of waiting and preparation have been looking forward to this day.
In the early spring of 2017, I began to participate in the winter Olympics coverage. Since then, I have gradually understood the complexity and precision of the preparation and operation of an Olympic event, and can only spend more time and energy to participate in and learn.
Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Fan
In the following years, I worked and lived in Chongli for a long time every year, had the opportunity to visit Chongli township communities, government departments and major snow parks, and witnessed the whole process of all the Winter Olympic venues from scratch, from construction to completion.
Seeing the venue of the National Ski Jumping Center "Snow Ruyi" rise to the ground is an extremely precious experience. Seeing the production of each Winter Olympic track in Genting Ski Park, and then experiencing multiple FIS World Cup events, the route outline of all the tracks has long been imprinted in the heart.
Because of the preparation of the Winter Olympic Games, the small city of Chongli has caught up with the "winter wind" of development, whether it is urban areas, townships or the core areas of the Winter Olympics, its development and construction are changing with each passing day, which makes people feel very emotional.
When the autumn wind had not yet blown to Stagecoach Township, I and a number of colleagues went to shoot, and the villagers here had a lot of income because they participated in the work of planting trees for the Winter Olympics. The environment is better, and their lives have really improved.
In the autumn of 2020, reporter Yang Fan interviewed villagers in Chongli Yimatu Township to participate in the Winter Olympic greening project
When the harsh winter shrouded the Prince Edward City area, I and a number of colleagues went to interview, where the engineering staff of many construction units took out the best "craftsmanship" to invest in the construction of the Winter Olympics, casting "China's first" and "the world's largest".
I believe that everyone who has come to Chongli can feel it - sometimes less than half a month, some intersections will change greatly; in recent years, the catering conditions, traffic conditions, accommodation conditions have improved, everyone's spirit has changed, and the name of "Oriental Davos" has become louder and louder, and it has spread more and more widely.
In the summer of 2020, reporter Yang Fan filmed the construction of engineers in the ice and snow town of Chongli Prince Town
Like many Winter Olympic builders and workers, I slowly became a "sublime drifter" and began to be familiar with the data of each venue and the story behind each scene like them. No tour guide, no explanation, walking in every venue, every traffic station, as if in another hometown.
The accumulation of those exchanged for time and experience has given too many places of Chongli a unique texture in my heart. At some moments of typing on the keyboard, my heart brightens, and the thousands of details obtained from the interview will eventually be gathered in the grand picture of the preparation and holding of the Winter Olympics, becoming an ordinary and extraordinary shining point that constitutes a grand narrative.
In the winter of 2021, reporter Yang Fan filmed Mengbao skiing in Chongli Taiwu Ski Town
With enough masks and epidemic prevention materials, and two suitcases and snowboards towed, I entered the Zhangjiakou area in mid-January ahead of schedule. Because of this participation in the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games coverage, I will have more than 70 days to stay in Chongli.
Sometimes, I expect the days of work within the closed loop to pass quickly, and sometimes I hope that these precious days will pass more slowly. But the most important thing I want to say right now is – hey Winter Olympics, you're finally here!
Editors: Liu Ning, Yu Sihui, Cao Yibo