Capital prepared for another Games

Beijing would be able to accommodate competitors, audience members and tourists from around the world in 2022 should it host the Olympic Games, thanks to the experience and expertise it gained from hosting the 2008 Games and other international events, said senior officials and industry insiders.

"In the past 10 years, Beijing has successfully held more than 40 large-scale international sports events including the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008," said Wang Anshun, the mayor of Beijing and president of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games Bid Committee.

"Beijing has also hosted high-level international conferences, business events and cultural events. The comprehensive reception capability laid a solid foundation for the 2022 games."

In recent years, Beijing has become one of the most popular destinations for business trips and tourism. In 2014, Beijing hosted 260 million tourist visits. Beijing Capital International Airport served more than 86 million passengers on about 582,000 flights last year, remaining the second-busiest airport in the world by passenger numbers for five consecutive years, behind Atlanta International Airport in the United States, according to the Airports Council International.

The city is building a new international airport in Daxing district, which will replace the Nanyuan airport, which is expected to handle 72 million passengers and 2 million metric tons of cargo annually.

The proposed competition areas at Beijing's Wukesong, Yanqing county and Zhangjiakou in Hebei province have 576 star-rated hotels with 116,368 guest rooms. By 2022, the three competition areas are expected to have more than 600 star-rated hotels and more than 130,000 guest rooms.

According to the International Olympic Committee report released on June 1, "Beijing's quick and efficient transportation, world-class hotels, cosmopolitan cuisine and spectacular sightseeing will provide for a truly joyful Games experience".

Wu Shaoyuan, chief international conference expert of China CYTS MICE Service, said Beijing doesn't need to build extra facilities to cater for such an event.

"After 2008, the facilities and service in Beijing were raised to another level. After last year's APEC meeting, even the suburbs of Beijing proved they have the capability of undertaking more international conventions and exhibitions in the future," Wu said. "Besides, we now have Zhangjiakou to co-host the Games."

"Back in the 1980s, Beijing didn't really have an international convention center and didn't have the capability to host large-scale events, but this has changed," Wu said. "Now, from the facilities to services, we have reached international standards."

suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/06/2015 page7)