Initial groundwork preparation is now underway for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Games' organizers say all the groundwork prep for the new venues should be completed before year's-end.
They expect this will keep them on-schedule to complete the new venues by mid-2022, which will be 7-months before the Games are due to open.
Han Zirong, head of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, says a team of 80 observers is also heading to Rio to gather experience from this year's Olympics.
"These observers have already studied some of the key issues and difficulties that could be associated with the 2022 Winter Olympics, as well as some of the problems that could be involved in the 2022 Winter Games themselves. We expect our group in Rio is going to definitely bring back some useful information and experience."
Beijing is going to be home to the ice events, while the city of Zhangjiakou in Hebei, which is around 200 kilometers northwest of Beijing, will host the alpine events.
A high-speed rail line linking the two cities is now under construction.
