The change of sports before and after 2008 -
in my opinion
sports were competitive before 2008,
and sports have become part of daily life after 2008.
And that is the significant difference.
After the Beijing Olympic Games,
the overall sports atmosphere in Beijing
has undergone huge changes.
In the Olympic Forest Park
in the evening, when having a walk
one can see many local people doing exercises there,
kicking shuttlecock, skipping and jogging -
all kinds of exercise activities.
We will transform those Olympic stadiums built in 2008
and use them in 2022.
For example, the Water Cube
will be turned into an ice rink for curling competitions.
The National Stadium and Wukesong Stadium
will be the venues for the male and female ice hockey games.
We only need to install some refrigeration equipment.
Therefore the cost won't be too high.
Furthermore, for snow sports
large amounts of private capital
are flowing into snow sports.
Because snow sports is a popular sport industry
that is closely connected with tourism, local hotels
and the service industry.
Therefore, a number of social or private capital
have joined the planning of ski resorts.
So the input of the government will be much less than before.
(COMING OF AGE CHINA AFTER BEIJING 2008)
(GENTING RESORT ZHANGJIAKOU)
(POTENTIAL SITE FOR THE 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES)
(JUST SEVEN YEARS AFTER HOSTING BEIJING 2008)
(CHINA SUCCEEDED IN ITS BID)
(TO HOST THE 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES)
(PREPARATIONS ARE NOW UNDERWAY ACROSS CHINA)
(FOR THE NATION'S THIRD OLYMPIC GAMES IN 14 YEARS)
(BEIJING AND THE NEIGHBOURING CITY OF ZHANGJIAKOU)
(ARE BUILDING WINTER SPORTS FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE)
(TO HOST WHAT THE GOVERNMENT DESCRIBES
(AS A HIGHLY EFFICIENT WINTER GAMES)
(BEIJING 2008 to 2022:)
(THE LEGACY CONTINUES IN WINTER SPORTS)
(LOS ANGELES 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES)
To recall Chinese Olympic history,
people generally think that it begins in 1984
when Xu Haifeng won the first gold medal.
But in fact, the Olympic Committee of China
returned to the Olympic family in 1979.
The first Olympic Games we joined were
the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid.
The best place the China delegation got
was 16th place in speed skating.
It was said that for sports like cross-country skiing,
our athletes had not completed the course
by the time the winners had finished their meals.
Back then, our performance at the Winter Olympics
was far from international standards.
From that time on, our ambition was to win
a gold medal at a Winter Olympic Games.
22 years later, I had the opportunity to be the one
who did that at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games.
I think I'm very lucky to be the first Chinese person
to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games.
By the time I retired in 2006, I had a new goal.
I wanted to open my own ice skating school.
After ice skating for 23 years, I hoped to have a place
where I can pass my skills on to younger generations.
This facility here in Shanghai is my school.
We started to recruit students in 2013.
Now we have our own short-track speed-skating team.
We also have a figure-skating team and an ice hockey team.
They are all very lovely children.
I spend every day with them.
I think they are the future of winter sports of our country.
In 2013, we officially opened to the public.
And my school started recruiting as well.
We have an ice hockey team, a figure-skating team
and a short-track speed-skating team.
We are the first and only professional ice rink in China
that is independent and market-driven.
We also have a small professional team.
The members have migrated here from Heilongjiang province.
They have come here because I hired their coach
to be our short-track speed-skating team coach.
So they came here together.
As for the dreams of these children,
they are from 12 to 14 which is the right age.
And their hope is that they can have the chance
to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
When we were bidding for 2022, one of our initiatives
that really touched the committee members
was a programme we called 300 Million People on Ice and Snow.
Many people in China felt this idea is not
something we normally associate with winter sports.
Because we all know winter sports have always been
concentrated in the three provinces of northeast China
or just Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces.
However, in the bidding for the Winter Olympic Games this time
we proposed this plan.
The popularity of winter sports
must be extended beyond northeast China,
and reach even further south than just Beijing.
So we have a strategy called
"North winter sports spreading to the South and West".
It means we should develop winter sports in South China.
Even in West China we will develop winter sports.
With such a strategy,
local governments throughout China as well as
some private enterprises
will understand how the country is focusing its efforts
on winter sports.
(QINGDAO, CHINA)
(GUOXIN ICE RINK)
(SITUATED ON THE EAST COAST OF CHINA)
(QINGDAO WAS NEVER CONSIDERED A HUB FOR WINTER SPORTS)
(THINGS HAVE STARTED SHIFTING
(SINCE BEIJING WON THE BID TO HOST)
(THE 2022 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES)
Qingdao is part of the national strategy
that is spreading winter sports from the north
to the south and west.
In the past, we only had winter sports in Northeast China -
Jilin, Heilongjiang and Liaoning.
Only they had professional teams.
And most of the team members were from those provinces.
Then the government wanted to promote mass sports
throughout the entire nation.
Children and parents in the south also wanted to
participate in winter sports.
I think there is lots of fun in winter sports.
It is attractive to children and their parents.
I come from Northeast China.
I had been practising for several years
in north-east China.
And I heard that there is a team here, a new team.
The coach and leader here are very kind.
The city is also very attractive.
I think Qingdao will surely become the biggest competitor
of the three provinces in Northeast China.
I was watching TV at home.
It was showing the Winter Olympic Games.
Then I saw Victor An competing.
And after seeing him, he has become my idol ever since.
I felt so excited seeing him.
So I wanted to become a short-track speed skater.
The snow sports association in Qingdao is also preparing
to further develop winter sports in this city,
including building more ski slopes and ice rinks.
I think children from the south will be encouraged.
Because now they also have the opportunity to participate
in the Olympic Games.
Now it's possible for them to represent China to compete.
That is the dream of every child.
(CHINA HAS CONTINUED TO STRIKE GOLD)
(AT EVERY OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES SINCE SALT LAKE CITY 2002)
(VANCOUVER 2010 WAS HAILED A BREAKTHROUGH FOR CHINA)
(WITH FIVE GOLD MEDALS)
(AND FINISHING SEVENTH IN THE MEDAL TABLE)
(FIGURE SKATING CHAMPION PAIR ZHAO HONGBO AND SHEN XUE)
(IN PARTICULAR BECAME BIG STARS IN CHINA)
(AFTER THEIR HISTORIC WIN AT VANCOUVER 2010)
My most unforgettable memory was the moment
while waiting for the word "Beijing" to be announced.
Maybe it's because we used to be figure-skating athletes.
We were accustomed to sitting at the side
and waiting for the scores.
In the moment Beijing was announced,
it was like we were waiting for our own scores.
When it happened, many people noticed that
I was the first to jump out of my seat.
That was because I had this habit
while waiting for scores as a figure-skating athlete,
and in our minds we were thinking of "Beijing, Beijing".
The International Olympic Committee
has the honour to announce
the host city of the Olympic Winter Games 2022.
Beijing.
We have succeeded in our bid to host
the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
First, it will result in a new understanding
and more participation in winter sports
by Chinese people. Beyond that, we are intending to host
an environmentally friendly Olympic Games.
And we will re-use 2008 Olympic Games stadiums and venues.
For Beijing to host
both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games,
it has great significance for our country.
Winter sports are now being promoted everywhere in China.
I believe in 2022 when we host the Winter Olympic Games,
the number of winter sports participants
will reach 300 million.
Now, in addition to our top athletes training intensively,
there are also great numbers of students
joining winter sports clubs.
After we won the championship
in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games,
figure-skating clubs all over China filled with students.
And the number of clubs is increasing exponentially.
(AFTER RETIRING IN 2010 ZHAO HONGBO AND SHEN XUE)
(HAVE CONTINUED TO PROMOTE FIGURE SKATING
(THROUGHOUT CHINA)
(ZHAO HONGBO NOW COACHES)
(CHINA'S NATIONAL FIGURE SKATING TEAM IN BEIJING)
(SHUN XUE IS INVOLVED IN HELPING TO ORGANISE)
(THE BEIJING 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES)
After China's successful bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics,
figure skating will get more support
financially and technically.
And there is a growing emphasis on
both the artistic and technical aspects of training.
Of course there's pressure
in hosting our first Winter Olympic Games.
I certainly hope my athletes
can stand on the highest podium.
Now I'm trying to build a team.
From the couples amongst my team members
I hope to make them the world's best figure skating team.
We are trying our best to be the best,
in order to win medals at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Zhao Hongbo, our coach, inspired us in many ways,
from our performance
to the communication between the two of us.
As well as how to magnify your feelings on the ice,
and influence both the judges and the audience.
The most important thing he has taught us is
how to be professional athletes.
And he's done this
by relating many of his own personal experiences.
It has actually saved us a lot of career detours.
So we can reach our goal faster, with less setbacks.
For athletes, training methods, training systems and equipment
have all greatly improved since 2008.
We have gradually realised the importance of
reasonable and systematic training.
(THEY ARE CURRENTLY CHINA'S TOP FIGURE SKATING PAIR)
We have studied choreography overseas.
And we have seen how foreign athletes train every day.
How they balance their food nutrition every day,
how many hours they train each day
and what equipment they use to help them train.
I think this is the biggest improvement for us since 2008.
I think we do our best every day,
and improve every day.
Then we can realise our dreams
at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
For us, I think we care more about enjoying
the process of the competition.
People's attitude towards sports has changed,
because our country is changing.
We hope that both Chinese people and foreigners
understand that this isn't just about pursuing gold medals.
It's about enjoying the extraordinary
and exhilarating moments of our lives.
And I think this is the beauty of sports.
If an athlete has good scores at the Olympic Games
or wins an Olympic gold medal,
it's very helpful for promoting this sport.
Because winning Olympic gold medal...
For example, because Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo
won figure-skating gold medal at 2010 Vancouver Olympics,
more people became interested in figure skating.
It becomes a focus for people.
We worked together with them producing
Amazing on Ice,
which is a figure-skating roadshow.
We invited their friends, who are also Olympic
figure-skating gold medallists,
to be art directors,
showing their own interpretations
of figure skating
and touring in China.
I believe in the next six years
and by 2022,
there will be more people more familiar with winter sports,
with their histories,
and be more interested in winter sports.
Because in China, many people have never skied or skated once
for their entire lives,
and many people have never watched skiing
or ice skating before.
And thanks to Beijing 2022
I believe winter sports will have gained
tens of millions of fans and participants.
I think by having Beijing to be the host city for
the 2022 Winter Olympic Games,
the International Olympic Committee
has made a good decision.
Because by having this Olympic Games,
it will really affect hundreds of millions of people,
and have this many people start to like winter sports.
If we describe Beijing 2008 as a Summer Olympic Games baptism,
I believe that the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Games will be
a winter sports baptism with even greater effects.
(COMING OF AGE CHINA AFTER BEIJING 2008)