Harbin, China, January 11, 2024: The Olympic Council of Asia stepped back in time on the venue tour during the first OCA Coordination Committee meeting for the 9th Asian Winter Games Harbin 2025 on Thursday.
The afternoon tour took in the Harbin Ice Hockey Arena, which will host the men’s hockey competition of the 9th AWG in February 2025.
More significantly, the stadium was the main venue for the OCA’s 3rd Asian Winter Games in 1996, and the emblem – a giant figure of three in Chinese – greeted the tour party at the entrance to the stadium.
The 3rd AWG in 1996 was opened by the Chinese President, Jiang Zemin. The venue guide pointed out in which seat President Jiang was seated for the opening ceremony.
Another poignant moment was when the guide also identified the seat of the late Henry Fok – father of Timothy Fok, the OCA Vice President and Chair of the OCA Coordination Committee for the 9th AWG Harbin 2025. Members of the committee stood for a group photo in the same place as a mark of respect to the leaders.
The afternoon tour took in three venues for four sports - speed skating at Heilongjiang Ice Events Training Centre Speed Skating Rink, short track speed skating and figure skating at the Heilongjiang Ice Events Training Centre Multifunctional Hall and men’s ice hockey at the Harbin Ice Hockey Arena, which was built in 1993 and has a capacity of 5,500.
These venues have contributed to the title “Cradle of Champions” as they have been the training base for several of China’s winter sports stars in figure skating, short track and speed skating. These include Yang Yang, Zhang Hong and Gao Tingyu.
