Beijing's Winter Olympics bid very much alive

Bidding to become the first city to stage both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, Beijing remains in the running for the 2022 Winter Games, together with Norway's Oslo and Kazakhstan's Almaty, with the International Olympic Committee expected to retain all three candidate cities.

The host city will be selected by the full IOC membership in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 31, 2015.

Seen as advantages to Beijing's joint bid with Zhangjiakou in Hebei province are the reuse of 2008 Olympics stadiums, the promotion of winter sports in China and a 90 per cent support rate among citizens.

Beijing proposes holding Alpine events 120 miles (190 kilometers) away in the northern Chinese city of Zhangjiakou.