On 14 November, the “Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Drives 300 Million People to Participate in Ice and Snow Sports” themed exhibition opened at the Ice Sports Centre of the National Aquatics Centre, also known as the “Water Cube” or “Ice Cube.” Hosted by the Beijing Olympic City Development Center, the exhibition is part of the Dual Olympic Culture Promotion Series of the 16th Beijing Olympic City Sports Culture Festival.

(Opening ceremony of the exhibition)

Xia Rihong, Deputy Secretary General of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association (BODA), Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Beijing Olympic City Development Center, addressed the opening ceremony. He stated that building upon President Xi Jinping’s 2014 vision of “engaging 300 million people in winter sports,” the exhibition features dozens of images, precious videos, and physical exhibits to review and showcase the achievements of all sectors of society in consolidating and expanding the initiative of “engaging 300 million people in winter sports” during the preparation for and hosting of the Beijing 2022 Games and especially, after the Games. These achievements include building high-quality ice and snow venues and facilities, improving the athletic ability for winter sports, unleashing the economic vitality of the ice and snow industry, and promoting the development of mass winter sports.

(Xia Rihong delivers remarks)

Wu Nian, Deputy General Manager of Beijing National Aquatics Centre Co., Ltd., said that the National Aquatics Centre, as a “dual Olympic venue,” has actively responded to the national call of “engaging 300 million people in winter sports.” In the past three years, the Ice Cube has hosted nearly 30 winter sports events at various levels, and six editions of its own flagship event, the “Ice Cube Cup” Curling Invitational. It has also launched a variety of ice and snow themed activities, attracting numerous enthusiasts to experience the charm of winter sports and feel the power of the Olympic spirit. In the future, the National Aquatics Centre will continue to provide high-quality ice training and guidance services for winter sports enthusiasts, enrich the content and forms of activities, and hold various ice and snow competitions, cultural activities and science lectures. All these will provide opportunities for visitors to experience winter sports while also gaining a deeper understanding of the ice and snow culture and the Olympic spirit.

(Wu Nian delivers remarks)

(Wang Cheng, Head of the Communications Department of the Beijing Olympic City Development Centre, moderates the opening ceremony)

According to the host, achieving the goal of “engaging 300 million people in winter sports” is a solemn commitment that China has honoured to the international community and is also an important legacy of the Beijing 2022 Games. As the non-profit organisational legal person tasked with carrying forward the Olympic legacy, BODA launched the themed exhibition before the fourth anniversary of the Beijing 2022 Games. The goal is to enable the public to look back at the solid progress in translating the commitment to “engaging 300 million people in winter sports” into practice, and genuinely feel the growing popularity of winter sports across China. This exhibition is ongoing at the National Aquatics Centre, a venue for both the Beijing 2022 Games and the Summer Olympics Beijing 2008. The exhibition layout creatively encompasses the ice rink of the Ice Sports Centre, which will host the upcoming 2025 Beijing Mass Ice and Snow Sports Figure Skating Competition and the fourth leg of the 2025 Beijing Figure Skating and Synchronized Skating League this weekend. This is also an important initiative to implement President Xi Jinping’s important instructions on making good use of the Olympic legacy, and is also a practical action to “incorporate artistic elements in the Beijing Olympic Centre” as required by the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality.

(Visitors watch the exhibition)

Following the opening ceremony, the “Dual Olympic Culture Lecture” was delivered by Jiang Xu, Dean of the Logistics School at Beijing Wuzi University, to a total of 50 students. Professor Jiang Xu presented the book titled Olympic Logistics, which was written with his team within a time span of three years. This book is the first systematic monograph that distils the best practices of the two Olympic Games into “Chinese wisdom” and “Chinese solutions” for event logistics, providing valuable inspiration for future hosts of the Olympic Games and other major international events. The English version is expected to be published before the 2026 Dakar Summer Youth Olympic Games. Professor Jiang succinctly explained to the students how logistics permeated the entire process of the Summer Olympics Beijing 2008, from transportation of construction materials for the Olympic Village to the logistical support for tens of thousands of people during the Games to the precise and timely delivery of every piece of competition equipment. After the lecture, the materials manager of the Games-time Logistics Functional Area at the National Aquatics Centre provided a hands-on demonstration of the venue’s Olympic logistics work area for the teachers and students. This “Dual Olympic Culture Lecture” is the first activity of the “Dual Olympic Culture, Grand Canal Moral and Political Education” program during the Student Practice Week of the Logistics School at Beijing Wuzi University, following the signing of a strategic cooperation framework agreement between the university and the Beijing Olympic City Development Center earlier this month.

(The “Dual Olympics Culture Lecture”)

(Teachers and students observe the Olympic logistics work area of the venue)

Since the Beijing 2022 Games, BODA has taken the popularisation and development of mass winter sports as an important task in disseminating the Olympic spirit, carrying forward the Olympic legacy and promoting urban development to benefit the people. In celebration of the first anniversary of the Beijing 2022 Games, carnivals aimed at promoting winter sports were held at the National Speed Skating Oval, Big Air Shougang, Shougang Ice Hockey Arena, and Yanqing Olympic Village. In early 2025, an ice and snow carnival celebrating the third anniversary of the Beijing 2022 Games and the Chinese New Year was held in Yanqing Olympic Park. Regarding the development of youth winter sports, ice skating activities are featured in the Five-Ring Medal Challenge of the Beijing Olympic City Sports Culture Festival every year. The Youth Winter Sports Carnival is held in the Summer Palace, and a youth curling challenge takes place at the Ice Sports Centre of the Water Cube. At the same time, winter sports knowledge training is carried out through platforms such as the “Dual Olympic Culture Lecture” and youth Olympic education study tours. Several world champions have been invited to educate young people on winter sports, including freestyle skier Guo Dandan, curler Wang Bingyu, figure skater Tong Jian, and speed skater Wang Beixing. This year, 12 youth Olympic education study tours have been organised, welcoming the participation of over 2,200 teachers and students from 24 schools in Beijing and Zhangjiakou. Starting from 21 November, three youth Olympic winter camps will be held in Chongli District, Zhangjiakou.

Fu Xiaohui, Vice President and Secretary General of BODA and Director of the Beijing Olympic City Development Center, Jin Yan, Party Secretary and Executive Director of Beijing National Aquatics Centre Co., Ltd., and Ding Jun, Deputy Director of the Beijing Olympic Centre Management Committee, attended the event and jointly unveiled the exhibition, along with Liu Hong, Level II Division Rank Official of the Olympic Village Subdistrict Office, Chaoyang District.