The legacy of the Summer Olympics back in 2008 could help Beijing get to host the Winter Games. (Photo : Reuters)
From improving its pollution control to developing its infrastructures, Beijing is set to intensify its efforts in order to win the bid for hosting the Winter Olympics to be held in 2022.
"The bid by Beijing and co-host Zhangjiakou has entered its sprint phase," Beijing Vice Mayor Zhang Jiandong said. Zhang is incidentally the Vice President of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Bid Committee.
According to the committee, it plans to "mobilize all positive factors and do its best [...] to make the members of the International Olympic Committee [IOC] feel Beijing is the right choice."
Part of this Beijing-Zhangjiakou endeavor is the construction of a high-speed railway connecting the 200-kilometer-apart cities. Instead of traveling for over three hours, this train line set to be built this 2015 will shorten the travel time to about one hour.
Zhangjiakou is a city in Hebei Province northwest of Beijing.
The legislative officials of the Beijing municipal administration earlier passed a resolution declaring its all-out support to this Winter Olympic undertaking. It further urged the city government to coordinate constantly with Hebei provincial officers.
Because of the huge success of the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing has earned the nod of the Chinese masses regarding its intent to host the anticipated Winter Olympic event.
In a survey conducted last year, 95 percent of the Chinese populace expressed support to Beijing's bid. The survey was done in 32 cities last year.
Though Beijing has won the public's approval, it is yet to provide solutions for its persistent environmental concerns, particularly the issue of air pollution.
As a response, the city aims to close 300 pollution-contributing factories and invest more of its financial resources to air cleaning campaigns.
Hebei, on the other hand, intends to ease out the adverse effects of pollution by decreasing its use of iron, steel, cement and glass.
The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Bid Committee has already named six promotion ambassadors which include NBA star Yao Ming.
In January, Beijing has submitted its bid to the IOC. By the end of July 2015, the members of the IOC will officially cast their votes regarding the bidding in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
