DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, August 20, 2019 | 7

years onYEARS ON

Editor's note: As the People’s Republic of China prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary on Oct 1, China Daily is featuring a series of stories on the role regions have played in the country’s development and where they are today. Gold rush for investors at Olympic venue

Once impoverished and largely ignored Population Area: 188,800 Proportion of primary, instructors. About a tenth of them ing equipment manufacturing and square kilometers secondary and are from foreign countries including research, tourism services and by visitors, Chongli has turned around tertiary industries New Zealand, France, Switzerland sports training and exhibitions, said its reputation to become a prime winter Unit: percent and South Korea. Zong Zhenhua, deputy director of Chongli Primary Secondary Tertiary They coached 33,000 students the zone. tourism destination 46.2 during the latest ski season, an “It will be the world’s first place 75.56 increase of 43 percent on the 2017­ that focuses on the development of million Hebei 2018 44.5 2018 snow season. winter sports industries,” Zong said, By YU in Zhangjiakou, Hebei first trip to Chongli, they said it was Xiongan 9.3 “Most of the students are from adding that investors would also be [email protected] nothing like their preconceptions other cities in Hebei, and neighbor­ attracted by the Olympics. GDP 21 about the region. Unit: billion yuan 50.5 1978 ing and ,” said, More than 20 domestic and for­ For Beijing residents Liu Guilai “The cool temperature and good 28.5 adding that visitors from southern eign companies have registered to and his wife Yu Shuzhen, this sum­ air quality make us want to come China and foreign countries have base themselves in the park, includ­ 19.7 mer was not too hot as they found a next summer and we will even rec­ 23.6 also increased over the past two ing Technoalpin from Italy, a global perfect place to escape the heat. ommend the place to our friends,” 1953 years. leader in snow­making systems, Plus, it is not too far from the capital Liu said. 3,601 He has had to acquire new skills MND Group from France, a ski lift and has a number of leisure activi­ According to the local govern­ ($512.5 billion) 56.7 to meet tourists’ needs, such as hik­ manufacturer, and Tenson from 2018 ties for retirees. ment, the average summer tempera­ Annual grain output 37.01 ing, camping and cycling. Sweden, a maker of outdoor cloth­ The couple, both in their 70s, left ture in Chongli is 18 C, and the Unit: million metric tons 33.69 2018 Wang Biao, Party secretary of the ing. 40 2014 their home in Beijing during the average concentration of PM2.5, a 35 24.36 China Chongli Regional Committee, Local governments are providing scorching hot days in July and came major indicator for measuring air 30 2002 said Chongli now has seven major various services and preferential 25 16.65 to Chongli, Hebei province, about quality, is 20 micrograms per cubic 20 1978 ski resorts, all ranked in the coun­ policies for the companies to help 200 kilometers northwest of the meter, consistently the best in the 15 4.68 try’s 20 best ski resorts. Four are in them become established in Zhang­ capital. Beijing­Tianjin­Hebei region. 2,658 10 1949 the top 10. jiakou. 5

“If it was not for the Winter Olym­ 2012 0 The local government can take pic Games we probably would never Cool change Business opportunities care of everything for potential have visited the place, let alone Liu and his family are not the only Average density of PM2.5 The construction of infrastruc­ investors, from company registra­ 108 Unit: micrograms per cubic meter stayed here for some time,” Liu said, people attracted by Chongli’s Olym­ 120 2013 95 ture and facilities for the Games is in tions to building factories and offi­ 608 2014 77 adding that they used to spend the pic glow, cool weather and alpine 100 70 full swing. They include the cross­ ces for them, Zong said, adding they 2002 2015 65 summer in northeastern China environment. 80 2016 56 country, ski­jumping and can get different incentives based on 2017 2018 which has moderate temperature all More than 70 million tourists 18 60 facilities, the Olympic village — Tai­ their development status. 1978 year round. visited Zhangjiakou last year, over 40 zicheng Snow Town — and a high­ He said Zhangjiakou has the abili­ Chongli in Zhangjiakou city, was double the number in 2014, accord­ 4 speed railway station. ty to develop winter sports indus­ 20 in the past known for being an ing to the city’s bureau of statistics. 1952 By the end of this year, the high­ tries because of its advantages — 0 impoverished area, which people The status Chongli has earned Sources: Hebei Provincial Bureau of Statistics, Hebei Provincial Bureau of Ecology and Environment speed railway linking Beijing to such as traditional manufacturing largely avoided due to the bitter cold from winning the Winter Olympics MUKESH MOHANAN / CHINA DAILY Zhangjiakou and Chongli industries — which can provide and stinging winds. has not only attracted tourists. will begin operation. Travel time by technical support and human But since 2015, when Beijing won Investors in the tourism industry, train between the two cities will be resources. the bid for the 24th Winter Olympic skiing equipment manufacturers The mountains have been devel­ “It was an emerging destination cut to 50 minutes from the current MND Group has started manu­ Games, Zhangjiakou has become a and job seekers are coming from oped for skiing in winter and out­ for winter sports, and even could be three hours. facturing cables and snow­making popular destination because of its home and abroad to take advantage door sports, such as orienteering, the top one in China in the future if Driven by the winter sports boom, equipment at a local company’s fac­ co­host status. It will stage most of of the development potential of the camping, hiking, golf and cycling, in the bid succeeds,” Wang thought Chongli officially came out of pover­ tory using its equipment and work­ the Games’ skiing events. region. summer. back then. ty in May. ers. Liu’s daughter, Yu Lei, and son­in­ Covering 2,334 square kilome­ Wang Shizhuo, a ski instructor at His hunch proved right. An But Zhangjiakou officials have However, Zong conceded devel­ law are both skiing enthusiasts. Aft­ ters and with a population of Thaiwoo Ski Resort in Chongli, has increasing number of ski enthusi­ seen an opportunity to create a new oping winter sports industries was er driving many times to Chongli to 126,000, Chongli had been a pov­ worked and lived in the district for asts and tourists started arriving aft­ economic engine driven by winter at an early stage. hit the slopes, they bought a small erty­stricken county for years. five years. He doesn’t plan to leave. er the successful bid. sports industries. He said there was no experienced apartment in the area in 2017 to About 80 percent of the land is With 14 years’ experience skiing Wang said he was sure his future A new industrial park covering workforce with the technical skills make their stays easier. mountainous and only 7 percent is in Northeastern China, Wang was in Chongli, and in 2016 he 211 hectares is being built for this and professionalism to meet indus­ “In the winter, they come here for suitable for agriculture. arrived in 2014 when the joint Bei­ moved his wife and 5­year­old son purpose. It’s located inside Zhang­ try standards. the skiing at the weekends, while In the past, getting around was jing and Zhangjiakou bid for the from , pro­ jiakou High­tech Industrial Devel­ “What Zhangjiakou has now is this summer they sent us here to inconvenient and there was limit­ Winter Olympics was still under­ vince. opment Zone, about 70 km south­ great potential backed up by all the escape the heat,” Liu said, adding a ed scope for development, accord­ way. During the last snow season, west of Chongli. changes the Olympics has brought. one­way car trip takes about three ing to the local government. At the time he thought Chongli Wang was promoted to lead the ski The Winter Sports Equipment The city has a solid industrial foun­ hours. But now those disadvantages had great potential due to its prox­ school run by the resort. Industrial Park will cater to indus­ dation and a great potential market While it was the elderly couple’s have been turned into advantages. imity to Beijing. He heads a team of 300 ski tries related to winter sports, includ­ nationwide,” Zong said.

Skiers compete during an international competition last year at the Thaiwoo Ski Resort in Chongli, Hebei province. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

the country, Mou Zhenguo, 38, from Beijing has worked in Xiongan for Province steps out from the shadows of its neighbors over six months, employed as a sen­ ior manager at CRCC Xiongan Con­ struction, a State­owned construc­ By ZHANG YU in Shijiazhuang From 2014 to 2018, more than 1.8 It is “a strategy that will have last­ The new area is mainly located in way station, flood and pollution tion company and one of the earliest trillion yuan ($256.6 billion) of capi­ ing importance for the millennium three underdeveloped counties in control projects and waste treat­ companies registered in the area. As a large province neighbored by tal flowed from Beijing and Tianjin to come, and a significant national . ment facilities, according to the Next year, getting to work from two major metropolises, Hebei was to Hebei, accounting for more than event”, the Xiongan planning out­ The building of more than 20 pro­ area’s official WeChat account. his Beijing home will be much eas­ once overshadowed by Beijing and half the province’s total introduced line said. jects is underway, including a rail­ Like many others from around ier. Tianjin’s economic and social devel­ capital, An intercity railway line is being opment. But times have changed, reported. built to connect Xiongan with the and the province is catching up at a Last year, 2,516 projects and more capital. When put into operation at rapid pace. than 1,400 high­tech Beijing and the end of next year, it will take only Covering almost 190,000 square Tianjin enterprises resettled in 35 minutes to commute between the kilometers, roughly 12 times the Hebei, said Wang Dongfeng, secre­ two cities. size of Beijing, Hebei has played a tary of the Communist Party of Chi­ Currently, it takes Mou two hours greater role since 2014, when a na Hebei Provincial Committee. to drive from his home in Beijing’s national development strategy — The strategy was accelerated after Xicheng district to his workplace at the integrated development of Bei­ building of the Xiongan New Area Xiongxian county, Xiongan. He only jing­Tianjin­Hebei region — was began in 2017. goes home at weekends. launched to tackle unbalanced Located 100 kilometers south­ “It will be more convenient for development. west of Beijing, the new area was people who live in Beijing and work A key task for the province was to earmarked as a hub for Beijing’s in Xiongan; even faster than some take over “noncapital city” functions noncapital functions and a new eco­ commutes inside Beijing,” Mou said, from Beijing and become the base nomic engine driven by innovation. adding that he will be able to go for industries, enterprise headquar­ Xiongan also helped place Hebei home every day. ters, institutions, logistic companies on the map as a new area of “nation­ “There’s no way I’d come from the and markets. al significance” after the capital to work in Hebei if not for The task turned out to be a great Special Economic Zone and Shang­ Xiongan, which has a great future,” development opportunity for Hebei. hai’s Pudong New Area. An aerial view of Baiyangdian Lake in Xiongan New Area, Hebei province, LIU DONGYAO / FOR CHINA DAILY Mou said.