OLYMPICS-WINTER/CHINA-SNOW Experts confident Beijing will have enough snow to host Winter Olympic Games

Record ID: 152025

  • Title: OLYMPICS-WINTER/CHINA-SNOW Experts confident Beijing will have enough snow to host Winter Olympic Games
  • Date: 23rd June 2015
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE SNOW EXPERT WEI QINGHUA SAYING: "That area has a unique microclimate because it's sitting on a transitional belt between the Inner Mongolian plateau and the North China Plain, on a raised mountain ridge. So, the cold and warm air masses often intersect here. So, it has a great amount of snowfall."
  • Embargoed: 8th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAI7I550SD1HQCFHN0M0Q77OOO
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: International snow experts said on Tuesday (June 23) that they were confident that Beijing is capable of hosting 2022 Winter Olympic Games with enough snow.
    Beijing 2022 Olympic Games Bid Committee organised a group discussion on Beijing's snow making ability to host the winter competitions.
    Wei Qinghua, a senior Chinese snow expert who has participated in planning and construction of many ski resorts said the competition venues were in a good location to have great amount of snowfall.
    "That area has a unique microclimate because it's sitting on a transitional belt between the Inner Mongolian plateau and the North China Plain, on a raised mountain ridge. So the cold and warm air masses often intersect here. So it has a great amount of snowfall," Wei said.
    Italian snow expert Mojca Ogris Schimberg said she was very confident of Beijing's snow making ability.
    "I'm definitely positive that Beijing can host Olympic Games as you have very, I would say, dry climate which is good for snow making. You have cold winter, which again is another factor for very good snow making and the quality of snow is, that's why also good for preparation of the ski slopes," Schimberg said.
    "Nobody, I think nobody would take chance, let me say, gamble whether we get natural snow or no natural snow, therefore again I would say definitely snow making is required for Olympic competitions," she added.
    The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission visited one of the proposed ski resorts for the Chinese 2022 Winter Olympic bid in March.
    Headed by Russian member Alexander Zhukov, the commission visited the slopes of the Genting Secret Garden resort in Chongli county near Zhangjiakou, which would host some of the snowboarding and the skiing events, should China win the bid.
    The Commission have already visited sites in the city of Beijing as well as the Yanqing Zone, where the Alpine Skiing and luge events would be staged.
    Beijing, up against Almaty, Kazakhstan, is seeking to become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games.
    The International Olympic Committee is due to select the host city on July 31 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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