(ATR) The IOC evaluation commission traveled 245 kilometers northwest of Beijing to see the Zhangjiakou mountain cluster on day three of their inspection visit in China.
Should Beijing 2022 win its bid over Almaty, Kazakhstan to be decided in July, Zhangjiakou would host freestyle skiing, snowboarding, biathlon and Nordic events in 2022. A third Olympic village would be ideally situated between the two venue clusters.
Genting Secret Gardens Resort, opened in 2010 and with a summit elevation of 2,100 meters, would host freestyle skiing and snowboarding events. The Genting – which means "above the clouds" in Chinese – Snow Park, just a short lift ride from the base, would be divided with the two venues practically facing one another.
Although alpine skiing events will take place to the south in Yanqing, Genting resort has hosted lower level FIS alpine races previously.
In November, International Ski Federation freestyle director Joe Fitzgerald and snowboard director Uwe Beier gave their approval of the terrain and proposed venue locations.
Similar to the IOC schedule, media members received a venue tour of Zhangjiakou on Thursday afternoon.
Only a couple of skiers could be seen descending the few snow-covered slopes with the surrounding gentle hills also barren. Seedlings have been planted nearly everywhere to improve aesthetics in the area, as venue models for 2022
are dotted with an abundance of pine trees.
A representative of the Chinese ski federation who helped guide the tours advised that the IOC team asked some highly intensive and unexpected questions, but also found time to engage in a snowball fight, despite minimal
snow in the areas surrounding the slopes.
Just a short 10-minute drive down the road, passed the proposed Olympic village, lies the cross-country, biathlon and ski jumping venue sites. Work has not yet begun on the three compact venues.
Cross-country could become one of the most talked about venues in 2022 as skiers would race around a few turns in close proximity to a section of China’s Great Wall built by the Ming Dynasty. Ski jumpers would also have a glimpse of the iconic landmark from the apex of the yet to be constructed venue.
If Beijing fails to win the 2022 bid, the cross-country trails would not move forward as planned. However, the ski jumps and biathlon venue would still be built.
It appears that Zhangjiakou will need to rely heavily on man-made snow on its slopes and trails for the Games. With a lack of snowfall and minimal greenery and vegetation on Zhangjiakou’s barren-looking hillsides, two existing water tanks will be essential for snowmaking.
The approximate three-hour drive between Beijing and Zhangjiakou will be shortened significantly with new and more direct expressways to be built, reducing the 245-kilometer trip to 161 kilometers.
Additionally, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed rail, with construction work recently underway, will whisk visitors, media and the Olympic family between the two venue clusters in 50 minutes. The highly anticipated railway would also make a stop in Yanqing, where alpine skiing and sliding events would be contested, just a 20-minute ride from the center of the Chinese capital.
The train would reach Chongli Railway Station in the city of Zhangjiakou, just a few kilometers from where medals would be awarded. Another 18-kilometer ride takes one to Tazicheng Station, situated between the two venue clusters and close to the Olympic village.
Beijing officials have seemed hesitant to reveal estimated costs for construction of new venues, infrastructure projects, and other related facilities.
Six existing venues from the 2008 Games will be transformed to accommodate the winter events, three venues will be purpose built for the Games (alpine skiing, bobsleigh/luge/skeleton and cross-country skiing), and three venues will be constructed regardless if Beijing wins the bid (ski jumping, speed skating and biathlon).
Only the three purpose-built venues would be factored into the Games budget, while the three others would not. As the new high-speed railway line and expressways will move forward even if Beijing loses and are respectively part of China’s National Development Commission and the China Railway Corporation, both projects will also be excluded from the Games budget.
The five-day IOC inspection visit to Beijing concludes on Saturday with a closing news conference.
Written by Brian Pinelli in Zhangjiakou
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