Govt lays out details of park at former steel plant

An abandoned industrial park in western Beijing will be turned into a venue for hosting sports and cultural events as part of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, a plan published on Wednesday said.

Shougang Industrial Park, covering an area of 22.3 square kilometers, is a former steel plant that was vacated by State-owned Shougang Group when it moved to Caofeidian, Hebei province, in 2010.

The Beijing city government, in coordination with some of the city's districts and bureaus, including the city's development and reform commission, produced the three-year action plan that will turn the area into a world-class city rejuvenation landmark by 2021.

"We will adopt the principle of preserving the original appearance of the park and fully use the existing facilities," said Hong Jiyuan, deputy director of the commission.

He said it's important to reuse the industrial site, which will host the big-air snowboarding competition and related leisure activities in 2022.

Big-air snowboarding is a new Winter Olympics event that involves snowboarders hurling themselves off a snow ramp in aerial stunts including complex flips and spins before landing on a slope.

Along with preparing for Beijing 2022, the venue aims to host high-level athletic training and sports-related startups after the Games as part of the city's Olympic legacy, said Wang Shizhong, vice-president of Shougang Group.

A bridge will be built across the Yongding River - which runs through the former steel mill in the capital's Shijingshan district - to better connect the suburb with downtown and build up a special Olympic community.

The bridge is expected to be completed by September, concurrent with the park's opening, Wang said.

A skywalk park, about 10 kilometers long, will be the main feature, he said. Four times longer than New York's High Line park, it is designed to be the world's longest park corridor.

The project will restore the steel mill's original appearance, including lakes, according to the plan.

Planning and design of the park will be green and intelligent to help rejuvenate the community, said Shi Weiliang, chief planner of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources.

An eco-friendly demonstration area will be built within the park, and the first 5G network technology system in the capital will be established there, he said.

Three transport lines will also be built to cover 98 percent of the park's area, Shi added.

This month, central authorities stressed the need to stay committed to hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics in a green, sharing, open and clean manner, and said advanced technological approaches should be used in the planning and construction of venues and infrastructure.

Starbucks and the InterContinental Hotel company will set up operations in the park to improve its service facilities.