Countdown to Beijing 2022

If you pass by Beijing's Olympic Forest Park on a winter night, the dazzling light of an oval-shaped building would probably catch your attention.

This is the National Speed Skating Oval, known locally as the "Ice Ribbon", that will stage the speed skating competitions during next year's Winter Olympics.

The main structure of the Oval was completed a year ago and the ice-making process was finished last month.

As the only newly-built venue for ice events in the Beijing competition zone, the "Ice Ribbon" has an ice surface of around 12,000 square meters and can seat 12,000 spectators, making it the largest speed skating venue in Asia.

Located 3.5 kilometers northwest of the iconic "Bird's Nest" stadium, the "Ice Ribbon" oval is expected to become another landmark venue of the Chinese capital.

"What the Oval means to Beijing 2022 is just like what the Bird's Nest stadium meant to Beijing 2008," said Ding Jianming, deputy director of the Beijing Major Projects Construction Headquarters Office.

TWO OLYMPICS

Wu Xiaonan, chairman of the National Speed Skating Oval, gets emotional when talking about "Ice Ribbon", which reminds him of his first Olympic experience in 2008. Then, he worked as a venue operations manager when the Olympic Games first descended on China.

"We didn't have experience when building the "Bird's Nest" and "Water Cube", but now we can finish the construction work with more confidence," he said.

"I'm so lucky to participate in these two Olympics in my lifetime."

Wu isn't the only "lucky" person in his team. Zheng Fang, chief designer of the oval, was in charge of building five venues, including the "Water Cube", when Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Games.

"As an architect, it's thrilling to serve two Olympics," said Zheng. "The design turns 'hard ice' into 'soft ribbon', which embodies the Chinese understanding of nature."

The ribbons resemble the traces that athletes leave on the ice, symbolizing speed and passion. A total of 22 ribbons were designed to echo with 2022, the year when the Beijing Winter Olympics take place.

17 years ago, at the age of 35, Li Jiulin was appointed chief engineer responsible for the construction of the Bird's Nest. At that time, no one in China had the experience of constructing such a complicated steel structure. Li and his colleagues completed 13,520 construction drawings based on 150 designs and eventually built the Bird's Nest.

In recent years, Li has been leading his team to build the National Speed Skating Oval, the only new permanent ice-sport venue for the 2022 Games.

"Any architecture is a reflection of its era. The Bird's Nest stadium started a new era in China's construction industry, and has presented a variety of innovations, many of which have been upgraded in the following years and will be applied to the National Speed Skating Oval," said Li.

HI-TECH VENUE

High-tech devices and facilities with multiple purposes have been developed in the construction of the Oval.

According to the project manager, the venue has made innovative breakthroughs in its design concept, technical process, material selection and construction techniques. It adopts a high-tech curved curtain wall system, which is assembled out of 3,360 curved glass units to create a ribbon shape.

The "Ice Ribbon" is the world's first Winter Olympic venue that uses carbon dioxide for ice-making, which is currently the most environmentally friendly ice-making technology, with near-zero carbon emissions and improved efficiency.

It will use the heat generated from ice-making to melt ice in the cistern and maintain the ice surface. These techniques will help to save about 2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

In line with Beijing 2022's legacy plans, all 2022 venues in the capital city, including the "Ice Ribbon", will not only stage international sports events but will open to the public after the 2022 Games.

FASTEST ICE

Former Winter Olympic speed skating gold medalist Zhang Hong has been following the construction of the "Ice Ribbon" closely.

"As a member of the IOC Athletes' Commission, I need to put my focus on the experience of athletes," said Zhang.

"Speed skating is a race against time, so the faster they skate, the better they feel."

According to Zhang, who won China's first ever Olympic gold medal in speed skating at Sochi 2014, the fastest two speed skating venues are in North America. One is in Calgary, Canada, and the other is in Salt Lake City, the United States.

Zhang expects that athletes can record their best in Beijing next year.

It is also the dream of the ice-making team led by Canada's Mark Peter Messer.

After more than 60 days of ice making, the level difference of the concrete ice slab layers is about 4mm and the temperature difference on the ice surface does not exceed 0.5 degrees Celsius, allowing athletes to perform at their best.

Messer started his career as an ice-maker in 1987. He has helped prepare ice for around 20 different ovals across the world, including the one in Calgary which has been the scene of many world records.

"Our aim is to give the best conditions to the skaters so that they can do their best performances," said Messer.

"We want to be ready. When the first athletes come, we want to be ready and have everything perfect. When they come in, they understand that this is a place where they can go fast."

Messer spent his 60th birthday in China, where he received presents from his Chinese colleagues, and he felt good to be able to celebrate.

"The big celebration will be at the end of February in 2022, when the Olympics are over and everything is good," he said. 

Source: XINHUANET