LIMA, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Beijing has paid special attention to the idea of sustainability, from the very beginning process of bidding to the current preparations for the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, said Chang Yu, the director of the Department of Media and Communications of the Organizing Committee.
"During the preparations for the 2022 Games, Beijing has taken full advantage of being a host for 2008 Summer Olympic Games with a lot of then venues that will be used for 2022 Games," said Chang, who is to report the work of the organizing committee during the session of International Olympics Committee (IOC) in Lima from Wednesday to Saturday.
According to Chang, the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, will hold the opening and closing ceremonies; the National Aquatics Center, known as the Water Cube, will host curling matches, the Capital Indoor Stadium will be used for speed skating and figure skating competition.
Chang said a lot of venues from the 2008 Summer Olympic Games will receive renovations to become suitable for winter sports, which greatly reduces the costs and reflect the idea of sustainability in a reasonable way.
In terms of the venues that have to be newly built, Chang said the designers have taken into consideration of the future use in advance and they would serve their functions after the Games.
Chang highlighted the efforts of transforming old steel mills into facilities for the 2022 Games, which is demonstrating a sustainable approach to hosting the Games.
Beijing is renovating the former production site of major steelmaker Shougang Group in western Beijing and turning it into training venues to meet the demand for national teams preparing for the 2022 Winter Games.
The development program is in line with the IOC proposal in the Olympic Agenda 2020 to cut bidding and organizing costs for hosts.
Alexander Zhukov, head of the IOC's coordination commission for the 2022 Winter Games, also underscored Beijing's efforts in sustainability in his report for the IOC Lima session.
In addition, the Organizing Committee of Beijing 2022 has already moved its offices into the renovation site, according to Chang.
IOC president Thomas Bach said during the IOC session in Lima that he was impressed by the renovation project in Beijing and suggested other IOC members go and visit the site in the future.
Shougang Group gradually relocated its production site to neighboring Hebei province as part of measures to reduce air pollution in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.
The former production site, which used to play an important role in the history of Beijing's development, will become a gathering area for winter sports and revive its robust vitality in an eco-friendly way in near future, added Chang.
