Poll shows support for joint Winter Olympics bid

A majority of Chinese support Beijing and Zhangjiakou's decision to bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, while some 90 percent of the respondents believe that China has a fair chance or better to win, said to a survey conducted by the Global Poll Center on Wednesday.

The survey, which polled 1,461 people who are above 15 years old in 18 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Zhangjiakou, showed that 86.1 percent of the respondents support the decision of the two cities to bid for the Olympic Games.

The highest support rate, at 86 percent, comes from Beijing, and the lowest support rate, 82.7 percent, comes from Zhangjiakou, said the report.

When asked whether Beijing and Zhangjiakou could win the bid, 44.4 percent of the respondents said they are positively confident of victory. Some 44.3 percent said there is a fair chance and only 3.3 percent feel pessimistic about the bidding, with the rest saying they cannot make up their mind.

Beijing and Zhangjiakou plan to hold the ice sports and snow events respectively for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, the news of which caused a stir in China on Tuesday.

However, according to the experts, the two cities still have many disadvantages despite past Olympic Games experience and their suitable geological location.

Many analysts believe that the chances of winning could be tarnished by the smoggy days and the air pollution that has been haunting the two cities over the past year.

That opinion was also reflected in the survey. Some 54.7 percent of the respondents believed that air pollution is the biggest challenge for the two cities. The second biggest challenge, mentioned by 29.8 percent of the respondents, is the unwritten rule of the International Olympic Committee that no continent should hold two Olympic Games consecutively.

The 2018 Winter Olympic Games will be held in South Korea.

Other challenges mentioned by the respondents include "Chinese people are not very into winter sports," "the sports facilities in the two cities are not well-established" and "Northeast China provinces such as Jilin province are more suitable for the Games."