Exterior view of the Overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum located in Chongli District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province. Profile picture
A corner of the exhibition hall of the Overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum. Courtesy of respondents
The German Association for the Promotion of Chinese Culture donated a commemorative album of the Second Winter Olympics in 1928 to the Overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum. Courtesy of respondents
In Chongli District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, the Overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum is built on a mountain, with undulating mountain-shaped buildings and gentle hillsides blending together, and the string-like building façade echoes with the woods on the side of the venue, forming a unique scenery where modern architecture and nature are harmoniously blended.
From the initiative of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese in 2019 to the official opening of the museum in early 2022, overseas Chinese and ethnic Chinese around the world have widely participated in the preparation of the Overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum.
Walking into the Overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum, a variety of Winter Olympics-themed exhibits silently tell the story of overseas Chinese and the Winter Olympics around the world and their keen attention to the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The first in the country to be the largest
The manuscript written on the official paper of the IOC's five-ring emblem in 1929 by Coubertin, the 1922 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, tickets, clothing, documents, stamps... At the Overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum, you can not only review the history and development of ice and snow sports in the world, taste the exquisite objects and interesting stories of previous Winter Olympic Games, but also understand the bidding, preparation and holding process of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games through exhibits.
With the hot progress of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, the Overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum has recently been launched. The museum has four functional halls, including the Preface Hall, the Ice and Snow Sports History Hall, the Winter Olympics History Hall, the Beijing Winter Olympic Hall, and an ice and snow sports experience area, providing the audience with a comprehensive display of physical objects, pictures and video materials related to the Theme of the Winter Olympics. The venue adopts the architectural method of "two museums in one" of museums and libraries, with a total investment of about 300 million yuan and a total area of 24,035 square meters of the main building, of which the museum is 6,861 square meters and the library is 5,414 square meters. The surrounding supporting construction area of 38,606 square meters of celebration square, will build a ropeway and the surrounding ski resort to connect.
The Overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum is the first museum in China to focus on ice and snow and the Winter Olympics, and it is also the largest and most abundant ice and snow and Winter Olympics theme museum in China. The modern and beautiful Ice and Snow Museum embodies the dedication of overseas Chinese and Ethnic Chinese around the world.
"Donating the overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum is a major measure for overseas Chinese to support the Beijing Winter Olympics with practical actions." Cheng Xueyuan, vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, said in an interview with this reporter, "In 2019, the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese issued a proposal for the "Donation to build an Overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum" and collect related exhibition collections to overseas Chinese and ethnic Chinese around the world, and the vast number of overseas Chinese, returned overseas Chinese dependents, overseas Chinese businessmen and overseas Chinese enterprises and overseas Chinese federations at all levels actively responded and actively participated, donating a total of 160 million yuan and collecting more than 6,000 pieces of domestic and foreign collections, which fully demonstrated the deep feelings of the vast number of overseas Chinese compatriots who are concerned about Sangzi, patriotic and hometown, and the actions and style of overseas Chinese in helping national events. ”
Run to the collection in search of fine products
The abundance of exhibits is hard-won. In order to raise exhibits related to the theme of the Winter Olympic Games, overseas Chinese from all over the world contributed money and efforts to run around and find many collections of fine products.
The German Chinese Culture Promotion Association actively responded to the call to collect collections, and has donated more than 5,000 pieces of stamps, albums, tickets, press cards, clothing, commemorative coins, commemorative albums and other collections related to previous Winter Olympics, which is the organization with the largest donation of collections.
Wang Zhiwen, executive president of the German Chinese Culture Promotion Association, recalled in an interview with this reporter: "Among the collections we donated is a commemorative album of the Second Winter Olympics in 1928, which is the treasure of Liu Daiquan, president of the German Chinese Culture Promotion Association. As an old overseas Chinese who has lived overseas for many years, he has insisted on collecting various Olympic Games-related collections for many years. This time the Ice and Snow Museum collected the collection, he sorted out nearly a thousand stamps of the previous Winter Olympic Games, holding a magnifying glass, carefully inspecting them one by one, classifying and loading books according to the chronology. Chairman Liu's enthusiasm and patience have touched and inspired us. Run flea markets, visit second-hand bookstores, explore museums... It is precisely because of the hard work of many overseas Chinese that they have condensed into thousands of collections. ”
"At the end of 2020, I learned the news that the China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese was collecting the collection of the Ice and Snow Museum, and I wanted to participate in this activity quickly." Zhang Zhigang, founder and editor-in-chief of the Canadian Health Times, told this reporter that Canada had hosted the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and after seeing the news of the call, he immediately decided to visit Calgary and Vancouver to collect collections related to the Winter Olympics. After visiting two cities, he found that collecting collections was not so simple: it had been a long time since the 1988 Winter Olympics, and many souvenirs were no longer available; it was difficult to contact collectors of more valuable collections such as medals, and collectors were reluctant to sell... Finally, through the local overseas Chinese group, Chinese media and social media, Zhang Zhigang mobilized the overseas Chinese forces and collected a total of 15 collections of athletes' clothing, mascots, related books and audio-visual products, all of which were donated to the Ice and Snow Museum as scheduled. "On Chinese New Year's Eve night this year, I received a collection certificate from the Ice Museum, which is a unique New Year's gift!" He said.
Freeze Glory Witness history
During the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum became a venue for spectators to watch the competition and hold celebrations. After the Winter Olympic Games, it will become an activity center for the cultural and leisure life of citizens.
Cheng Xueyuan introduced that the Overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum is a beautiful scenery of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and in the future, the museum will continue to play an important role. The first is to further give play to the positive role of the museum in serving the national strategy of national health, promoting the coordinated development of mass sports, competitive sports and sports industries, and promoting the development of ice and snow sports in the world. The second is to further give play to the role of overseas Chinese museums in various localities, including the Overseas Chinese Ice and Snow Museum, in preserving history and educating people, and to tell the story of overseas Chinese at home and abroad and the Olympic Games. The third is to further enrich the exhibition form, strengthen exchanges with relevant domestic museums and international counterparts, give play to unique advantages, and help build a sports power.
"Participating in the preparation of the Ice and Snow Museum has narrowed the distance between overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese and their ancestral (home) countries." The collection we donated is displayed in the Ice and Snow Museum, which is like an emotional bond that makes us more concerned in china. As overseas Chinese, it has always been our wish to do more for our ancestral country. The collection of the Ice and Snow Museum has given us a window for expression of this mood, and let us have a physical sustenance for our enthusiasm for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Zhang Zhigang said.
"We want to go to the Ice Museum to see it, more eagerly than you can imagine!" Wang Zhiwen said that the successful holding of the Beijing Winter Olympics is the common glory of overseas Chinese and ethnic Chinese around the world. Doing a little bit of work for this Winter Olympics is the common wish of all members of the German Association for the Promotion of Chinese Culture. "With the Ice museum, the memories of the Beijing Winter Olympics have a home. In the future, no matter when we come to the Ice and Snow Museum and see these exhibits, it is like returning to the exciting arena of the Beijing Winter Olympics and witnessing the development of the previous Winter Olympic Games. I think this is also a testimony of the global overseas Chinese and ethnic Chinese working together with their ancestral (home) countries to 'move towards the future together'! He said. (Reporter Gojo)
People's Daily Overseas Edition ( February 11, 2022, 11th Edition)
Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition