2022 preparations peak in mountains of Yanqing

Organizers working overtime as new Olympics venue readies for test event

Despite strong winds and a bitter winter chill, the construction site of the National Alpine Ski Center is bustling with workers and machinery busy grooming snow trails that wind down Xiaohaituo Mountain in northwest Beijing's Yanqing district.

In just two months' time, the resort, nestling in forest at over 1,200 meters above sea level, will make its debut by hosting an International Ski Federation (FIS) Alpine Ski World Cup meet from Feb 15-16. Crucially, the event will serve as an early test run for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The venue, China's first Olympic-standard Alpine resort boasting a vertical drop of 900 meters, will have seven ski runs measuring 10 kilometers in total by 2022, providing tracks for 11 disciplines－including downhill, giant slalom and Super G－which have never before been staged in China.