A child learns to ski in Pinggu district. (File photo)
(ECNS) -- With about seven years to go before the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the city's sports authority has vowed to add 46 ice rinks as a move to promote winter sports among residents, the Beijing Youth Daily said.
Sun Xuecai, head of the Beijing Sports Bureau, made the promise at a press conference for the Ice and Snow Sports Festival on Tuesday. The festival will be held from December 19 to February next year in response to residents' enthusiasm for ice and snow sports.
The city's 22 ski resorts have opened and the number of ice rinks has been increased to 40, Sun added.
By 2022, Beijing will boast 36 indoor ice rinks and 50 outdoor ones in a bid to attract the city's 1.3 million students to ice and snow, he said, adding that each district will have an ice rink no smaller than 1,800 square meters.
The city aims to grow its winter sports sector into a 40-billion-yuan (about $6.19 billion) industry by 2022, according to Sun.
