Beijing Winter Games has left rich legacy

[Photo by Ma Xuejing/China Daily]

Editor's note: The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics have been a great success amid the difficult time of the coronavirus pandemic and also brought enthusiasm, strength and hope to the world. Driven by the Beijing Winter Olympics, ice and snow activities have gained popularity among Chinese people and ignited the public enthusiasm for participating in winter sports. Three experts share their views on the issue with China Daily.

Beijing Winter Games has left rich legacy

By Hussein Askary

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games were much more than a global sports event. Analyzing the Beijing Winter Games' achievements one year later, we can safely say they were a lesson in people-to-people communication and friendship in a world which is still fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and the tense politico-security situation in Europe.

The idea of clean competition with no antagonism — which is an Olympic tradition — is important to project the importance of amity and camaraderie onto the world of politics, because there is much we can learn about human nature when people are placed in a calm and amicable atmosphere which the organizers of the Beijing Winter Games succeeded in creating.

Through the Winter Games, China succeeded in showcasing the fruits of its peaceful economic rise. The artistic and technically amazing opening ceremony of the Games sent a message of friendship and peaceful coexistence to countries with different political, cultural and social structures, urging them to unite around the Olympic spirit. That was in stark contrast to the boycott calls given by some Western politicians and media organizations based on the dubious claims of human rights violations by China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Also, the decision of the foreign athletes and some world leaders, including those from Europe, to participate in the Winter Games conveyed a strong message that dialogue is always better than saber-rattling.

Among the fascinating achievements showcased by the Chinese side was conveying the true meaning of the green transition in all fields without jeopardizing the well-being and high living standard of the people.

Just a few months before the Winter Games, in September 2021 to be precise, China's State Council Information Office released a white paper titled "China's Epic Journey from Poverty to Prosperity", which said China has achieved the first centennial goal of eradicating extreme poverty and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Lifting 800 million people out of abject poverty in four decades is indeed an unprecedented feat in human history.

People who expected to see a "poor China" during the Winter Games were instead surprised to see an incredibly advanced China. It was the first ever "carbon neutral" Olympic Games, in which all the energy consumed was generated using environmentally friendly resources and technology. While renewable energy was used to power all the Games' venues, the refrigeration systems in several stadiums used new carbon-neutral technologies for the first time in the Games' history.

Also, most of the transportation vehicles were low-carbon based, and climate-compensated because over years Beijing and Zhangjiakou, the two host cities for the Winter Games, had greened their landscape by planting more trees, creating denser forests on more than 47,000 hectares and 33,000 hectares respectively, which accounted for about 530,000 and 570,000 tons of carbon sequestration, according to a report by the International Olympic Committee.

The Beijing Winter Games could also be called the "high-tech Olympic Games" since 5G technology, cloud computing, big data, satellite navigation, artificial intelligence and other high-tech were used efficiently in different fields, making information dissemination and logistics services more efficient. Most of the transport, parking and transfer operations were facilitated by AI and complex 5G networking systems, while TV transmission to the rest of the world was flawless with extremely high definition thanks to the use of high-tech.

Another very important aspect of the Games was the transportation of the athletes, international media persons and the public to the venues from Beijing and other locations through the state-of-the-art, high-speed rail system that cut travel time from Beijing to Zhangjiakou from three hours to only 47 minutes.

The development of the high-speed railway, which started just before the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games with the inauguration of the first high-speed train between Beijing and Tianjin, has made China the world leader in high-speed trains. Staring from the mere 120-kilometer Beijing-Tianjin railway, China has now built more than 40,000 km of high-speed railways, which is almost equal to the circumference of the planet at the equator.

Another fascinating aspect of China's development is the Belt and Road Initiative, which is focused on building/improving infrastructure connectivity and fostering economic development among nations. In fact, it has already become a global phenomenon with about 150 countries joining it. The impact was seen in the decision of many leaders from Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America to defy the calls for a diplomatic boycott of Beijing during the Winter Games to meet with Chinese leaders to discuss matters of common interest, especially the Belt and Road Initiative.

This show of solidarity with Beijing proved the futility of the West's boycott call with the aim of isolating China. Besides being an imprudent and morally questionable issue, decoupling from China is well-nigh impossible given that it is now an indispensable part of the global economy and international relations.

Between the Beijing Summer and Winter Olympics, China became the world's second-largest economy and the biggest manufacturing country and the largest contributor to global economic growth. And the Belt and Road Initiative perfectly symbolizes China's policy of peaceful cooperation and win-win cooperation to achieve the common goals of humankind.

Nothing symbolizes friendly competition and mutual respect better than the Olympic spirit. Similarly, there can be no better representative of a community with a shared future for mankind than China. By organizing the 2022 Winter Olympics, China proved that it is indeed a world leader when it comes to peace and friendship, and sent a clear message that it is ready to share the fruits of its epic economic rise with other countries.

Hussein Askary is vice chairman of the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden.

Seeking UNESCO stamp for Central Axis

By Hui Ming

One year ago, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games wrote a new chapter in Olympic history and received international praise. Many of the Winter Games (as well as the 2008 Summer Games) venues are along the Central Axis of the capital city. And on Jan 28, Beijing released its protection management plan for the Central Axis from 2022 to 2035, marking a new stage in its conservation, sustainable development and application to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 2024.

By successfully hosting the Winter Olympics, Beijing demonstrated the Chinese people's cultural confidence in the new era, injected new impetus into the ancient capital city, enhanced its international reputation and created the right conditions for applying to UNESCO to include the Central Axis in the World Heritage Site list.

In order to advance its transition into a national cultural center, Beijing has made good progress in conservation and made unprecedented efforts to protect and use its historical and cultural heritage.

The 7.8-kilometer-long Beijing Central Axis, which can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), stretches from the Yongding Gate in the south to the Bell Tower and Drum Tower in the north, resulting in a north-south undulating, left-right symmetrical architectural landscape.

The protection plan rationalizes the conservation area into a heritage zone and a buffer zone and specifies the boundaries for the first time. The heritage zone covers an area of 5.9 square kilometers and includes 15 elements, among them the Forbidden City, the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Temple of Heaven. The buffer zone contains historical river courses, ancient streets and historical cultural blocks, which are related to the Central Axis and can show the traditional landscape of the city.

Through 700 years of development, the axis has become the backbone of Beijing. It captures the essence of ancient urban architecture and has witnessed the vicissitudes of time.

China is home to 56 World Heritage Sites, seven of which are in Beijing, making the capital home to the highest number of such sites in the world thanks to its 3,000-year history. The array of architectural delights and complexes along the axis represent the highest standard of royal palaces, and embody the essential architectural, cultural and aesthetic values and pursuit of the Chinese civilization.

The Central Axis is not only an important historical and cultural heritage, but also has a political dimension, as it has had a huge impact on the city's development plans and people's lives.

According to Beijing's medium- and long-term plan that runs from 2019 to 2035, the cultural values of its residents and their level of cultural awareness will be substantially improved and the city's demonstration and leading role in the creation of modern culture will become more prominent. Beijing's bid to seek UNESCO World Heritage status for the Central Axis will also help strengthen the conservation measures for the city and improve the lives and livelihoods of the people.

Chinese aesthetic design was amply reflected even during the 2022 Olympic Games. For example, the National Speed Skating Hall, also known as the "Ice Ribbon", creates a "ribbon" shape that symbolizes the high-speed sliding of speed skaters.

The official uniform designs of staff members, technical officials and volunteers — in traditional Chinese landscape painting technique — reflect the harmony between humankind and nature. The main colors of the uniforms, namely glowing red, Great Wall gray, sky blue and snow white, were widely used in ancient China.

Besides, the mascots of both the Winter Olympics and the Paralympics, Bing Dwen Dwen, a helmet-wearing panda, and Shuey Rhon Rhon, a personified traditional Chinese lantern, showcased Chinese cultural elements on the global stage.

Furthermore, the designs of the medals for the 2022 Winter Games were inspired by yu bi, a circular Chinese jade artifact dating back 5,000 years. And the 30 pictograms for the Olympics were inspired by Chinese calligraphy and seal carving.

The giant snowflake that started with the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics and ended with the closing ceremony of the Winter Paralympics turned into a Chinese knot which symbolizes connectedness and togetherness.

So in more ways than one, the success of the Beijing Winter Olympics can be attributed to the integration of Chinese cultural and aesthetic elements with the Olympic spirit. Many new buildings with Chinese cultural elements are situated on the extended line of the Central Axis. They include the National Speed Skating Hall, the National Stadium, National Aquatics Center and the Olympic Park Observation Tower (which were built for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics), the Chinese Academy of History, China National Arts and Crafts Museum and the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum.

To some extent, these new landmarks have added modern aesthetic elements and value to the Central Axis, which has witnessed the city's rise and become an important cultural symbol.

The architecture and historical edifices along the axis reflect China's agricultural civilization and traditional political culture, while the new landmarks — achievements of the country's industrial civilization and modernization — demonstrate China's willingness to embrace the world and its confidence in creating a new model for human advancement.

Thanks to the timely and effective dissemination of information during the Winter Olympics last year, the world has a better understanding of the city. The Winter Games have left a great legacy and created the right architectural and aesthetic condition for Beijing to seek UNESCO World Heritage status for the Central Axis.

Hui Ming is a researcher at the China National Center for Cultural Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Sports sector eyes growth with modern and better services

By Huang Haiyan

China hosted "simple, safe and splendid" Winter Olympic Games last year, and ensured that the people share the fruits of the Games and benefit from its rich legacy. Accordingly, the central government has intensified the national fitness campaign, by launching programs to especially popularize ice and snow sports and bolster the high-quality development of the sports industry.

True, China is a newcomer to winter sports, and its ice and snow sector lags behind those of the United States and many European countries due to climate and shortage of facilities. But the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games have prompted many people to join the national fitness campaign and take to sports.

China achieved the goal of having at least"300 million people" engaged in "ice and snow activities" by January last year. In fact, more than 346 million people, accounting for 24.56 percent of China's total population, have been engaged in winter sports since 2015, when Beijing won the bid to host the Winter Olympics. That so many people are engaged in ice and snow sports in China is in itself a major contribution to the development of winter sports globally and the growth of the domestic sports industry.

As a matter of fact, China saw 344 million tourists in the sector during the 2021-22 winter sports season, raking in 474 billion yuan ($70.67 billion), according to the China Tourism Academy's annual report on the development of ice and snow tourism released in January. Also, the upgrading of the snow and ice sports industry will make the products much more diverse.

While a wide range of related events have been held to help people take up winter sports, the country has independently developed some high-end winter sports equipment.

More important, the Beijing Winter Games were the first "carbon neutral" Olympic Games in history and greatly promoted the development of the sports industry, especially the ice and snow sports industry. All the energy consumed at the Winter Games was generated using environmentally friendly resources, while renewable energy was used to power all the Games' venues, and the refrigeration system in several stadiums used new carbon-neutral technologies for the first time in the Games' history. And all the venues used low-carbon transportation vehicles.

The Games were "green" because in the years leading to 2022, Beijing and Zhangjiakou, the two host cities, had greened thousands of hectares of land.

The Beijing Winter Olympics can also be called the "high-tech Olympic Games" since 5G technology, cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence and other advanced technology were used efficiently in different fields.

Furthermore, all stadiums, venues and roads that connect different facilities of the Games were covered by 5G networks which also provided better telecommunication support for broadcasting and online healthcare services. Also, China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System played an important role in integrating kinesiology and its high-precision positioning function.

China has used the Winter Games as leverage to promote the region's coordinated development, particularly the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The cooperation improved public service skills in different regions and deepened the integration of the sports, culture and tourism sectors.

The Winter Olympics further optimized the distribution of the regional winter sports industry, with the industrial upgrading of the northeastern region laying the foundation for the development of the sector in North and Northwest China.

However, the country faces unprecedented challenges when it comes to promoting the national fitness campaign and healthy development of the sports industry. Although Chinese people are enthusiastic about winter sports, many of them cannot afford to try them. So the authorities should expand the current customer base to boost consumption.

But the problem is that the country lacks high-end winter sports equipment brands, because China is a latecomer to winter sports and the ice and snow sports industry. This means there is a need to improve the service sectors of the winter sports industry, and develop a modern sports industrial system to write a new chapter in China's sports industry.

First, the authorities should carry forward the Olympic Spirit, and promote national fitness campaigns. As for the government, it should exploit the cultural resources left behind by the Winter Games, provide winter-themed products and services such as digital movies, comics, online games and exhibitions to promote the spirit of the Winter Olympics regularly.

Second, the government should create an atmosphere that is conducive to playing winter sports and promote winter sports in schools and colleges so more and more people buy winter sports gear and equipment. It can also popularize ice and snow sports by building winter sports stadium with the support of the private sector.

Third, the government should work out a national development strategy for winter sports, and winter sports technology should be used to make clear the mid- to long-term research direction.

Fourth, the authorities should boost the coordinated development of the winter sports sector to create diversified, high-quality and cross-regional winter sports/tourism routes. And since major sports events play an important role in the balanced development of individuals and communities, the government should improve the cross-regional links and strengthen infrastructure to popularize winter sports.

Huang Haiyan is director of the Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of Sports and Health Industry at Shanghai University of Sport.