Role as global tourism hub seen for Harbin

The Harbin Asian Winter Games have been the best Winter Asiad yet, and the host city has the potential to become a global winter tourism hub with its natural environment, said Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, first vice-president of the Olympic Council of Asia, in an exclusive interview with China Daily.

Harbin was designated as the host city for the continental sporting gala on July 8, 2023, leaving the city with just 18 months to prepare for the event — a considerably shorter time frame than the usual several years of preparation needed for major international sporting events.

"That's absolutely a miracle," Fok said, adding that the Games' legacy will benefit local people.

"The greatest thing about the Games is that it's a catalyst for change. If you don't have the Games, it might take much longer. All the facilities renovated for the Games are given to the people in Harbin to use, especially the young people. I think that's a very important point."

He also praised Hangzhou's ability in hosting the Asian Games in 2023, emphasizing that the organizers' meticulous attention to detail during the event continues to be a subject of conversation to this day.

"Hosting the Winter Asiad is even more difficult because many people in Asia are from tropical countries. Frankly, when Harbin was first mentioned as the host city, they were always concerned about the extreme cold. Now you have done everything to provide comfort," he said.

"The logistics, transportation, hospitality and, most important, Harbin being a very beautiful city, make it a place where ... I would like to visit some of the sites and explore the history," he added.

The praise of China's ability to host such events was echoed by Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics and one of the seven candidates vying to replace Thomas Bach as International Olympic Committee president.

"China is world-class at delivering world-class events," Coe said in a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency.

During Fok's stay in Harbin, he and his eldest son, Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, who is vice-president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, explored the city's major attractions, including the famous Chinese-Baroque Historic and Cultural Block in Daowai district.

"I think one of the greatest things about (the Games) is not only the sporting exchanges, but also seeing Harbin as much as you can," the elder Fok said.

Hong Kong has sent its largest-ever delegation to the Games, with 74 athletes competing in curling, ice hockey, figure skating, short-track speed skating, speed skating and alpine skiing.

"I'd like to see more young people from Hong Kong and Harbin engaging in exchanges. I hope that through these exchanges, we can not only enhance the Games but also get to know each other better," Fok said.

"In fact, many Hong Kong athletes train on the Chinese mainland, especially in winter sports. I hope that there can be more generous support for these exchanges," he added.

Hong Kong skater Sidney K Chu, 25, a competitor in both short-track speed skating and speed skating at the Games, serves as a vivid example of sporting exchanges between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Chinese mainland.

Chu has been training for years in Changchun, Jilin province, where he learned to speak the local dialect. This proficiency helped him gain popularity on Chinese social media platforms during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and the ongoing Winter Asiad.

"This is my first time competing in international speedskating events, and I wanted to challenge myself because there are very few professional speed skaters from Hong Kong. I hope to show more Hong Kong people the charm of winter sports," he said.

Fok said that "our athletes spent a lot of time here and came up with a local accent. Now, this is the beauty of sport". Such exchanges are also expected to be seen during this year's 15th National Games, which Hong Kong will co-host along with the Macao Special Administrative Region and Guangdong province, he added.