Zhangjiakou ski venues to be ready this year

Venues for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, will be completed and put into use for ski competitions this year, a Hebei top official said on Tuesday.

"This year's major task is to start operating the ski venues and prepare for test competitions, continuing preparation work for the Olympic Games with high standards and high quality," Xu Qin, governor of Hebei, said in an annual government work report.

He delivered the report at the opening of the annual session of the Hebei Provincial People's Congress, the local legislative body.

The venues include centers for ski jumping, cross-country skiing and biathlon, all of which are prepared for ski competitions in the city's Chongli district, according to Xu.

The city will host seven test events at the beginning of next year, according to Gao Yingxia, head of the marketing department of the city's Winter Olympics preparation office.

One of those events is the International Ski Federation world championship of freestyle skiing and snowboarding, which will feature 28 games that will be attended by athletes from more than 45 countries and regions, Gao said.

The construction of other major projects, such as an Olympic village and an ice-snow town, will be finished by the end of August, Xu said.

"All of them will be high-quality and environmentally friendly projects embedded with cultural characteristics," he said.

The city also strives to improve its overall ability to provide services for the Olympic Games including transportation, accommodation, catering, medical treatment, volunteer and security, Xu said.

The construction of high-speed railways, highways, public transport hubs and upgrading work on the local airport is underway and will all be finished this year, said Wang Xiangming, head of the city's bureau of transport.

According to Wang, all vehicles used for serving the 2022 Winter Games will be clean and green because they are hydrogen fueled. The city has been using nearly 200 hydrogen-powered buses since 2018, Wang said.

While preparing for the Olympic Games in the city, the province is taking the opportunity to develop winter sports and related industries as legacies.

By holding different kinds of ice and snow activities for the public across the province, Hebei saw about 13 million people involved in winter sports, accounting for 17.3 percent of its population. The number is expected to reach 17 million this year, according to Xu.

The winter sports industry is emerging as sports on ice and snow are becoming more popular. Last year, 32 projects settled in a winter sports equipment manufacturing base in Zhangjiakou. In addition, more than 30 industry projects will be put into operation this year, Xu said.