Beijing beckons

After the excitement of Tokyo, there are the Beijing Winter Olympics to look forward to in less than six months' time.

The Games, to be staged from Feb 4-20 next year and which will open in the Chinese capital, are being co-hosted by Zhangjiakou, Hebei province.

The 12 competition venues have been completed and tested, while other facilities are scheduled to be finished by October, according to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

A 34-strong delegation from the Beijing organizing committee for the 2022 Games was sent to Tokyo to hear from Japanese counterparts how to stage such an event during a pandemic.

After gaining firsthand knowledge and experience, the organizers are confident of delivering a streamlined and safe Winter Olympics.

Yan Cheng, human resources director for Beijing 2022, said,"Observing how the Japanese hosts proceeded with their operations and services for the Games during the pandemic enlightened us in many respects.

"It's been a fruitful trip for our staff members and we will make the best of it by thoroughly studying and analyzing all cases and experiences."

Inspired by her compatriots' performances at Tokyo 2020, China's snowboarding Winter Olympic silver medalist Liu Jiayu has raised her expectations for the home Games next year.

"Closure of the Tokyo Games marks the beginning of Beijing 2022. We've been anticipating this moment for so long. It's time for us to step up, and hopefully I can finish on the Olympic podium again at home," said Liu, who won a silver medal in the snowboarding halfpipe at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Agencies contributed to this story.