By SUN [email protected]
A s Beijing ramps up preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympic
Games, mass par-ticipation in winter sports and recreations has
soared, a fact highlighted by bustling scenes of people playing on
ice and snow around the capital.
Despite winds blowing in deep winter chills, the laughter and
high spirits of children sliding down the snow slopes at the
National Stadium in north Beijing have brought vitality to the
venue, which is hosting the annual Birds Nest Happy Ice and Snow
Carnival.
An audience-interactive gala event featuring outdoor winter
recreations, the carnival has become one of the hottest leisure
destinations in town during the winter holiday season, thanks to
growing public interest in winter sports since July 2015, when
Beijing was awarded the Games.
The carnival off ers 11 types of win-ter sports and related
activities in three zones spanning 70,000 square meters both in and
outside the stadi-um, better known as the Birds Nest, which was
built for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games.
The landmark venue will be refur-bished to host the opening and
clos-ing ceremonies of the Winter Games in 2022.
To cater to the growing number of visitors, organizers have
expanded the participation area, adding an 800-sq-m curling rink, a
1,500-sq-m artifi cial ice rink that can be reas-sembled elsewhere,
and a row of vir-tual-reality skiing simulators inside the
stadium.
Even so, the venue is still strug-gling to meet the soaring
demand from urban winter sports fans.
Housewife Wang Jing has brought her 6-year-old son to the event
three times since it opened last month.
(A year ago) it was a little bit crowded on the weekends, but
this year it seems crowded even on work days. The fun here is
playing in the snow even though its man-made, it really intrigues
kids, she said.
Li Zhiqun, assistant general man-ager of the National Stadium,
said visitor numbers have been beyond expectations.
Although we expanded our site and extended our operations by
opening sessions at night, we were still running far beyond our
capac-ity during the fi rst couple of days, he said.
Its a sweet headache, really, so we have to further optimize the
layout to allow more activities inside and to explore new spaces in
the squares outside.
Started in 2009 as one of the
venues post-Olympic projects, the carnival has attracted more
than 1.4 million visitors. Some high-level competitions, such as
the Interna-tional Ski Federation Freestyle Ski-ing World Cup and
the Air & Style Snowboarding Contest, have also been held at
the venue.
The carnival is open until Feb 26, and this year, a preferential
policy has been adopted that off ers free entry for children age 12
and younger to encourage more youth participation.
Meanwhile, the fi rst 10 children
checking in every day are given free skiing lessons on
artificial snow trails, guided by the former national cross-country
skiing champion Xu Wenlong.
Compared with bigger resorts in remote city suburbs, here we
provide accessible training on peoples door-steps. Its an eff
ective way to allow skiing to catch on with more people at the
entry level, said Xu, who won multiple cross-country titles at the
12th National Winter Games in 2012.
Citing the addictive fun of ski-ing, some young Chinese
enthusi-
asts have dubbed the sport white opium because their bodies itch
for action every year when the snow sea-son approaches.
The crowded scenes at major ski resorts around Beijing in late
November signifi ed Chinas surging appetite for the sport, which
was introduced in the early 2000s.
When the Jundushan Ski Resort in the northern suburb of
Chang-ping opened trial operations on Nov 25, general manager Qiao
Wei was impressed by the large crowds lin-ing up in the reception
hall to check
in, and by the long lines of skiers waiting to take cable lifts
to the top of the trails.
This year, we opened the resort as early as the weather
permitted, but we didnt expect so many customers during our test
run. It turned out to be a big surprise, he said.
Boasting a maximum capacity of 6,000 skiers on 150,000 sq m of
rug-ged terrain, Jundushan upgraded its cable lifts and purchased
more high-end skiing and snowboarding equipment to prepare for peak
busi-
National campaign is helping interest in snow activities to soar
as China gears up for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games
Embracing the thrill of the chill
>> PAGE 27
dodododo
Winter activities in Beijing
DowntownBeijing
Happy Ice and Snow Carnival at the Birds Nest
Polar Experience Ice and Snow Carnival at the Workers
Stadium
Zizhuyuan Skating Rink at Zizhuyuan Park in the west Beijing
downtown
Yabuluoni Skiing Park at Chaoyang Park in the east Beijing
downtown
Beijing Winter Sports Festival at the Capital Gymnasium
Shichahai Rink at Shichahai Lake in the central Beijing
downtown
Yuyuantan Ice and Snow Gala at Yuyuantan Park
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6
7
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Source: China Daily XIA DIWEN / CHINA DAILY
Tiananmen Sq.
7
1
56
34
2
5th ring road
4th ring road
3rd ring road
2nd ring road
DowntownBeijing
AREA: 70,000 square meters, divided into three zones inside and
outside the stadium
RECREATIONS: winter sports and leisure activities including
skating, skiing, curling, hockey, ice slide rides and childrens
sledding
OPENING HOURS: 10 am to 6 pm
TICKET PRICE: 120 yuan ($17) on weekdays and 160 yuan on
weekends and holidays. Children younger than 12 get a free pass
HOW TO GET THERE: Subway Line 8 (Olympic Green station)
AREA: 3,600 sq m of rinks and man-made ski trails outside the
stadium
RECREATIONS: free skating, figure skating, hockey and
entry-level skiing with professional guidance from members of the
national team
OPENING HOURS: 10:30 am to 7 pm
TICKET PRICE: 80 yuan for a two-hour session
HOW TO GET THERE: Subway Line 4 (National Library station)
AREA: 15,000 sq m, divided into skating, skiing and winter
sports demonstration zones
RECREATIONS: skating, an ice slide and snow slope rides,
snowmobiling and skeleton
OPENING HOURS: 9 am to 5 pm
TICKET PRICE: 40 yuan to 70 yuan depending on the activity
HOW TO GET THERE: Buses 323, 368, 374 and 394 to Yuyuantan West
stop
AREA: 150,000 sq m of frozen lake
RECREATIONS: skating and ice sledge rides
OPENING HOURS: 9 am to 10 pm
TICKET PRICE: 15 yuan on weekdays and 20 yuan on weekends
(rental of skates is extra)
HOW TO GET THERE: Buses 13, 42, 107 and 111 to Beihai North
stop, or Subway Line 8 (Shichahai station)
AREA: 20,000 sq m of artificial snow trails and playground
RECREATIONS: skiing, bobsled rides, snowball fights and snow
soccer
OPENING HOURS: 8 am to 9 pm
TICKET PRICE: 300 yuan at weekdays and 360 at weekends for an
all-day session
HOW TO GET THERE: Buses 419, 710, 752 and 852 to Chaoyang Park
West stop
AREA: a 100,000-sq-m frozen lake
RECREATIONS: skating, ice sledge and ice slide rides
OPENING HOURS: 10 am to 8 pm
TICKET PRICE: 15 yuan for skating, 10 yuan per ice-sliding
session and 20 yuan for an hour of ice sledging
HOW TO GET THERE: Subway Line 4 (National Library station)
AREA: 30,000 sq m, including ice rinks and snow-covered
playgrounds
RECREATIONS: skating, dog sledding, snowball fights, ice lantern
shows and a penguin show
OPENING HOURS: 9 am to 5:30 pm
TICKET PRICE: 40 yuan to 200 yuan, depending on the activity
HOW TO GET THERE: Subway Line 2 (Dongsishitiao station), Line 10
(Tuanjiehu station) or Line 6 (Dongdaqiao station)
26 CHINA DAILY ASIA WEEKLY January 13-19, 2017L IF E | Winter
sports
