With daily temperatures hitting 20 Celsius, Beijing is now welcoming spring following a packed season of winter sports events — but that doesn't mean the city's Winter Olympics venues will lie idle.

The women's 1,000-meter race of the 2023-2024 China's National Speed Skating Championships was held at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, March 23, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's National Speed Skating Championships took place from Thursday to Sunday last week at the National Speed Skating Oval, dubbed the 'Ice Ribbon', with over 80 elite athletes from across the country participating.

"The competition is a test of my training. I could still feel the atmosphere of the Winter Olympics when I entered the Ice Ribbon. My goal is to achieve my best at the Asian Winter Games next year and the 2026 Winter Olympics," said Alemasi Kahanbai, who represents Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

"More young skaters have improved rapidly to become a force at senior level, heralding a promising future for Chinese speed skating," added the 26-year-old.

The National Speed Skating Oval is also scheduled to host Beijing's youth short-track speed skating championships and figure skating shows, before ISU World Cup races return to the Chinese capital later this year, according to Shao Yi, a management official of the venue.

For Beijing's Olympic venues, holding mass sports activities during breaks between high-level competitions has become common practice in recent years.

As one of the three competition zones of Beijing 2022, the city's Yanqing suburb staged the bobsleigh and skeleton World Cup concurrently last November. In other seasons, it has become a hub for outdoor events such as hiking, camping and cycling.

In May 2023, the Beijing Cycling League was held at the National Alpine Skiing Center in Yanqing, with over 200 amateur cyclists pedaling through meadows, forests and canyons.

"The natural beauty of Yanqing's Haituo Mountain, where the Beijing 2022 venues were located, changes from season to season, so this helps attract tourists from around the world," said Hong Wei, director of Yanqing's culture and tourism bureau.

Shougang Park, an iconic venue from the 2022 Winter Games, welcomed the return of Big Air action with the FIS Snowboard and Freeski Big Air World Cup last December.

The world-renowned venue will host a number of exhibitions and forums in the coming months, according to the venue's management company.

"Beijing will make full use of the Olympic legacies and coordinate the development of the summer and winter sports, in a bid to boost the sports industry and enhance people's well-being," said Zhao Wen, director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports.

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