Winter sports fever boosts sales in Sanlitun

The ongoing 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games have brought an unprecedented winter sports fever to the host city that can be seen and felt everywhere, including at TaiKoo Li Sanlitun, a posh leisure area in Chaoyang district where shops and street art installations are adorned with Games-themed elements featuring ice and snow.

At the southern zone of TaiKoo Li, Bing Dwen Dwen, a cuddly panda with an ice crystal shell who is the Winter Olympic mascot, winks at you on a huge LED display. Nearby, four dummies dressed as skiers glide on simulated slopes.

"The ski jackets and helmets the dummies wear can easily be found in shops in the zone, and the clothing and equipment are available in different colors and brands," said Ma Zedan, a manager of TaiKoo Li.

He added that displaying the mascot and the dummies is meant to promote the Games and encourage consumers to buy winter-sports-related merchandise.

"The sports event, I believe, will also help increase purchasing power, causing a jolt in consumption," he told journalists from home and abroad during their visit to TaiKoo Li, which was organized by the 2022 Beijing Media Center last weekend.

While stimulating consumption by providing winter sports products in international flagship stores, TaiKoo Li, which opened in 2008 when the city hosted the Summer Olympic Games, has also stepped up its efforts to be the city's literature hub.

On a street connecting the northern and southern parts of TaiKoo Li, consumers can read Games-related books at Sanlian Taofen bookstore, which is open 24 hours, and also participate in Olympics-themed book discussions and activities at the Chunfeng Xixi bookstore.

Students from a primary school in the district recently talked about their understanding of the Winter Olympics at Chunfeng Xixi and made paintings of winter sports they are fond of. Their works were put on postcards displayed in the bookstore.

Lu Huiling, director of the consumption promotion division at the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau, said that products with ice and snow themes will be a major consumption focus this year, and more winter sports promotions will be held in shopping malls across the city.