Olympic Fun For All

A visitor tries his hand at skeleton, an Olympic winter sport where the competitor rides head-first, lying face down, on a flat sled, at the National Sliding Center
Sightseers stand on top of Xiaohaituo Mountain and take pictures at a gate bearing the 2022 Winter Olympics logo
Children pose with equipment, such as snowplows and snowmakers, used during the 2022 Winter Olympics
Tourists enjoy their dinner at the open-air stalls in the Beijing Winter Olympic Village Square
Cable cars will take you from the athletes’ village, sitting at an altitude of 1,200 meters, to the top of Xiaohaituo Mountain in Yanqing District, Beijing, at an altitude of 2,200 meters

As midsummer turns Beijing's urban center into a hot and sweaty chamber, many residents and tourists seek refuge from the soaring temperatures by flocking to the Athletes' Village for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 to have some fun out of the scorching sun.

Many venues for the Beijing Winter Olympics have opened their doors to the public this summer, including the skiing center in Yanqing District which first welcomed visitors in April. As summer visitor flow currently reaches its peak, tourist coupons issued by the local government give travelers the opportunity to stay in a standard "athlete" room at a discounted price of 400 yuan ($59). According to official statistics, the number of people entering the park on a single weekend day has exceeded 3,000 this season, and the number of visitors staying in the village hotel sometimes reaches 2,000.

Due to the Olympics' closed-loop management, most spectators could only learn about the venues and village through television or online. Now, the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the environment in which athletes competed and lived is the main attraction for most travelers to the area. BR

(Text and photos by Wei Yao)

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

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