Harbin, China, September 24, 2024: The legacy of the 3rd Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China in 1996 was on display during the Chefs de Mission competition venue tour on Tuesday afternoon.
Delegates visited three competition venues that will be in use for the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin next February, and two of them were used in 1996, proving the sustainability of the venues and the long-term planning of the winter sports authorities in Harbin city and Heilongjiang province.
First up was the Heilongjiang Ice Events Training Centre, which was established in 1974 and comprises three separate ice sports venues: the Speed Skating Oval, the Multifunctional Hall and the Figure Skating Training Hall.
The Speed Skating Oval, with a seating capacity of 1,594 spectators, will host the speed skating competition during the 9th AWG – just as it did in the 1996 Winter Asiad.
The Multifunctional Hall, established in 1983, will stage the short track speed skating and figure skating competitions and has a capacity of 2,767. This was also a venue in 1996. Known as “the cradle of world champions”, this venue has been the training base for several world and Olympic heroes such as Yang Yang, Wang Meng and Fan Kexin.
The venue tour also took in two ice hockey venues, starting with the Harbin Sport University Student Skating Hall, which was built in 2008 and will be used for women’s ice hockey and with a seating capacity of 2,100.
The most poignant venue was the 5,000-capacity Harbin Ice Hockey Arena, built in 1993 and which was the main venue for the 3rd AWG in 1996, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies. In February it will be the venue for men’s ice hockey.
To mark the occasion, an eye-catching statue featuring the figure “3” and the OCA rising sun symbol welcomes visitors to the venue.
Delegates also checked out the training rink for speed skating and figure training and two training venues in the same complex as the two ice hockey competition venues.
The visitors were impressed not only with the legacy of the 3rd AWG 1996 but also the sustainability and renovation of the venues and the compact nature of the competition/venue facilities complete with all the necessary auxiliary rooms for the athletes.
Organising committee HAWGOC says all renovation work for the five competition venues in Harbin will be completed by the end of October.
The CDM Seminar will continue on Wednesday with a high-speed rail journey to the mountains of Yabuli, some 190km away and venue for the snow events during the 9th AWG. There will be two athlete hotels and one OCA hotel in Yabuli, as well as a medals plaza
