Only a month remains before the two candidate cities Almaty and Beijing gather in Kuala Lumpur to present their cases to host the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Members of the International Olympic Committee will vote to decide the host city on July 31. Though it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious, the bid is sure to boost the world's most populous nation's drive to develop winter Olympic sports in the future.

Now, let's take a look at what makes Beijing competitive:

Venues

Beijing 2022 has inherited the legacies of Beijing 2008 to the largest possible extent in venue planning and made the best effort to use existing venues.

It has prepared 12 competition venues in the bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, among which six are existing venues and six will be newly built. These venues are distributed in the Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou (in nearby Hebei Province) zones.

To the northwest of downtown Beijing, both the Yanqing and Zhangjiakou zones are located along the Yanshan Mountain Range and are favorable in air temperature, average freeze period and snow depth as well as wind speed, making these two locations ideal for the snow sports competitions of Beijing 2022.

Transport

Beijing 2022 will provide all participants with efficient, safe, reliable and environment-friendly transport services.

The construction of the planned Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-speed Railway will lower travel time between the locations from two hours to within one hour, creating a rapid transfer between the three zones. Two national expressways allow passengers to enjoy the glamour of the Great Wall along the way.

The concept of "running an athletes-centered event" is integrated into the upgrade and optimization of the transport network in all three zones, which will ensure minimal travel time from each Olympic Village to the competition venues.

Customized transport service plans based on the specific needs of client groups such as Olympic families, media and spectators will be implemented.

Accommodation

As an international metropolis, Beijing offers a variety of quality accommodation facilities including world-class star-rated hotels, stylish and convenient budget hotels, exquisite traditional Chinese courtyards and holiday resorts of various styles.

Located on the outskirts of Beijing, the Yanqing Zone is near the renowned Badaling Great Wall and has convenient transport facilities and abundant tourism resources, with high-end resorts and countryside accommodations.

The Zhangjiakou Zone has a sound accommodation system including high-end hotels, comfortable ski and spa resorts and village guesthouses with ethnic features.

At present, all the three zones have a total of 576 star-rated hotels with 116,368 rooms, fully capable of meeting the needs of Beijing 2022. By 2022, the numbers will reach 608 and 127,671 respectively. The accommodation for Beijing 2022 will meet the requirements of the International Olympic Committee in terms of accommodation capacity, facility quality and services.