Zhangjiakou puts Olympic venues to good use, reaching financial stability

Hebei province's utilization of the 2022 Winter Olympics venues in Zhangjiakou got off to a good start last year, basically reaching an operational balance of income and expenditure, according to the Hebei Provincial Bureau of Sports.

The city of Zhangjiakou boasts the National Ski Jumping Center, the National Cross-Country Skiing Center, the National Biathlon Center and the Zhangjiakou Olympic Village, which played key roles during the 24th Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Last year, the venues in Zhangjiakou and surrounding areas hosted 303 sports events, including six international events, 51 national events and 115 provincial events, according to a Hebei Sports Industry Work Conference for 2024 held on March 6, Hebei Daily reported.

The venues also hosted training for 32,000 participants from 59 teams, including from foreign countries such as South Korea and Japan, as well as domestic provincial teams, the bureau said.

The events attracted more than 1.76 million visits to the Winter Olympics venues in Zhangjiakou, it added.

Except for hosting sports events and incorporating training, the venues have gradually expanded their roles to cultural tourism, conferences and exhibitions, as well as leisure and entertainment, according to the bureau.

The province has carried out 13 renovations across six Winter Olympics venues to meet the needs of the new functions. The venues hosted 68 conferences and exhibitions, 99 cultural tourism events and 92 educational activities last year.

"We will continue to use sports as a driving force, and in the meantime develop cultural tourism to inject vitality into the high-quality development of the post-Olympics economy," said Liu Aimin, head of the Post-Olympics Economic Development Division of the Development and Reform Commission of Zhangjiakou.

This year, the province will continue to promote the use of the venues. Some track hardening will be carried out at the National Biathlon Center, while construction will be undertaken at the National Ski Jumping Center for ski resorts and supporting facilities.

No fewer than seven international events, 20 national events and at least 100 provincial events and other activities will be held throughout the year.

Efforts will also be made to cultivate events with local characteristics, continuously expand their scale and promote the integrated development of sports, culture and tourism.

This year, a Fourth Beijing-Zhangjiakou All-Season Sports Tourism Carnival will be held, with a focus on promoting coordination between Beijing and Zhangjiakou to gather resources from various parties and develop a new model of sports and tourism integration, as well as a new landmark for outdoor sports, according to the bureau.