Harbin gears up for Asian Winter Games

From posters at the airport and slogans on city buses to renovations at sports venues, Harbin is all set to host the Asian Winter Games in about four months.

Delegates from participating nations have expressed their admiration of the city's efficiency, organizing expertise and optimal facilities.

Despite being confirmed only a year ago as host of the event, officials from Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, assured representatives of 32 National Olympic Committees after a chef de mission seminar on Monday that the 9th Asian Winter Games will be a resounding success.

A chef de mission is the team manager of a national delegation at a major sporting event.

With 137 days to go before the weeklong winter sports gala opens on Feb 7, Chinese organizers briefed delegation managers at the Monday meeting about policies and plans covering 17 areas.

The topics included venues and competitions, arrivals and departures, anti-doping efforts and accommodations. They also discussed a two-day inspection tour across major venues in the city's downtown and co-host area Yabuli, a renowned ski resort cluster 200 kilometers from Harbin.

All the competition venues for the Games — five for ice sports in downtown Harbin and another eight for snow events in Yabuli — are existing facilities. Renovations will be completed by the end of next month to kick off a series of 14 test events that will run through January, according to the organizing committee of the Games.

The 2025 Harbin edition will feature the biggest representation of Asian countries and regions with a record 34 NOCs having confirmed their participation in the Games, during which 64 events spanning six sports will be held from Feb 7 to 14.Mixed doubles curling, ski mountaineering and synchronized aerials of freestyle skiing will make their debut at the Games.

It will be Harbin's second time staging the event — having first hosted it in 1996 — and the third edition to be held in China. Changchun, Jilin province, hosted in 2007.

Boasting rich tradition and expertise in winter sports promotion, Harbin is confident it will put on an impressive follow-up to its 1996 edition, said Yu Hongtao, a vice-president of the organizing committee.

"After this seminar, our preparatory work will enter the final stretch of pre-Games testing and operation. Everything is going well and on track," said Yu, who is also Harbin's Party chief. "We are committed to hosting a world-class event featuring Asian spirit, Chinese style and Heilongjiang characteristics to promote the unique charm of winter sports."

Having participated in the 1996 Games, Vinod Kumar Tiwari, deputy director-general of the Olympic Council of Asia, said he was impressed by Harbin's readiness for its second showing, given that it was only designated host of the 2025 Games a year ago. Usually, host cities have several years to prepare.

As the host of the following 2029 edition of the Asian Winter Games, Saudi Arabia sent its chef de mission Ahmed Bin Dhuwayhi to the seminar, hoping to learn from Harbin's best practices to promote ice and snow sports in his own country for the first major winter sports event to be held in the western Asian region.

"I feel that, as always, China surprises us when they organize sports events, so I am really excited to see what they will do after over 100 days from now," he said.