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SCIO press conference on latest progress of 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games preparations and updates on Yanqing and Zhangjiakou competition zones

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Zhao Wenfeng:

I will introduce the situation in Zhangjiakou. It is an international practice that whatever the amount of snowfall in a host city of the Winter Olympic Games, all the competition fields for snow events are required to maintain snowfield conditions with the aid of artificial snow in a bid to provide equal competition conditions for all athletes.

Chongli district, where the Zhangjiakou competition zone is located, has a continental monsoon climate with the typical characteristics of a mountain climate. Due to its topography, the precipitation in Chongli is significantly greater than that of its surrounding areas. By various measures, such as collecting overland runoff and snowmelt, we have effectively guaranteed the water needs for snowmaking and achieved both sustainable use of water resources and ecological environment protection. Efforts are mainly demonstrated in the following three ways.

First, we recognize the importance of conserving ecological water. We have coordinated the preparations for the Games with the improvement of the local ecological environment, and vigorously conserved water sources. The forest coverage rate in Chongli district has reached 67 percent now from the 52 percent in the bid year of 2015. In the core competition zone, the forest coverage rate has surpassed 80 percent. Precipitations in the urban area of Chongli and the core zone for the Winter Olympic Games have increased from 458 millimeters and 677 millimeters to this year's 537 millimeters and 730 millimeters, respectively. At the beginning of November, Zhangjiakou welcomed heavy snow and the maximum snowfall in the Games' core zone reached 26 centimeters, providing favorable conditions for snow use during the Games.

Second, we have paid special attention to optimizing surface water use. The core area of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics boasts a well-preserved ecological environment and abundant surface runoff resources. We established 11 open reservoirs, underground collection pools for snowmelt and landscape lakes at the Genting Snow Park and in the Guyangshu area, which have a total storage capacity of 530,000 cubic meters. In the Guyangshu area specifically, daily dynamic replenishment of regional surface runoff has reached 13,000 cubic meters, and surface runoff, together with the current storage capacity, can fully meet the snowmaking needs.

Third, we have paid special attention to scientific water conservation. Efficient water-saving artificial snow-making equipment and intelligent snow-making systems have been applied at both of the venues, which will maintain the best efficiency for snow-making according to dynamic changes in the external environment, saving about 20 percent of water resources. Likewise, we have made timely snow storage plans, including 72 snow storage spots, which are designed to store snow up to 288,000 cubic meters, further reducing the required water for snow-making. We have also paid attention to artificial snow enhancement. Professional teams have been organized to carry out timely artificial snow enhancement operations according to weather conditions and cloud systems, guaranteeing the need for snow in a comprehensive way and through multiple channels. Thank you.