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BEIJING, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's General Administration of Sport released a plan on Wednesday to speed up the construction of winter sports infrastructure, aiming to build at least 500 skating rinks before the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
"While we are expecting the 2022 Games, the winter sports infrastructure still can't meet the growing need of sports fans. So we plan to build more winter sports venues," said Wang Weidong, an official of the General Administration of Sport.
In the plan, there will be 650 skating gyms, 500 of which will be built in five years, and 800 skiing resorts across the country.
China's winter sports chief Ren Hongguo is expecting China to host more international winter sports events. "We are planning to develop our ice hockey league, and to attract more international competitions to China," Ren said.
China has vowed to encourage 300 million people in China to participate in winter sports while preparing for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
"China isn't on the top level in terms of winter sports," said Gao Zhidan, a vice president of the Chinese Olympic Committee.
"We have a long way to go. China has a small winter sports population and we are making efforts to develop winter sports industry," he added.
