Beijing transforms workshops into training venues for 2022 Winter Olympics

Four training venues for athletes of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are under construction in Shijingshan District in the Chinese capital.

Builders carry materials at the construction site of a hockey-training venue in the Shougang industrial park in Beijing on Jan. 30, 2018. [Photo/Beijing Daily]

Once completed, the venues will be used by athletes training in various ice sports including curling, figure skating, short track speed skating and ice hockey.

The venues were formerly coal plants at Shougang industrial park and are now being renovated to become training facilities for the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Work on three venues, which are previously coal workshops, began in April 2017. They are now equipped with utilities such as electricity, water and heating that are necessary in training venues for winter sports. According to official building requirements of the Winter Olympics, each venue will include a 1,800 square meter ice rink with a nine-layered base providing heating, waterproofing and other functions. The venues will be ready for athletes in June.

Near the old workshop sits the venue for ice hockey, which is being transformed from a coal station. Among the four training venues, this facility is the only one equipped with an auditorium that can hold up to 3,000 audiences.

Similar to sports arenas such as the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, the new structures will not only serve as athletes' training facilities, but are also designed to encourage local participation in winter sports after the Winter Olympics.