Harbin makes smooth work of downtown ice arenas

Combining history, technology and local features, Harbin's abundant winter sports venues, with their well-drilled operational staff, have set a dazzling stage upon which Asia's elite winter sports talent can shine.

Known as the cradle of China's Winter Olympians, Harbin is all set to facilitate the best skiers, snowboarders, skaters, curlers and pucksters from across the continent as they push their limits at the 9th Asian Winter Games, which will open on Feb 7 in the Heilongjiang provincial capital.

As the host of all the ice-based sports, Harbin's downtown area has prepared five venues for 32 medal events to be contested in short-track speed skating, figure skating, speed skating, curling and ice hockey, with all the facilities having previously staged domestic and international events in their respective sports.

Since late September, all the five ice sports venues have been tested and optimized, with a series of trial competitions, helping organizers and technical staff fine-tune equipment, lighting, timing and scoring systems, as well as broadcasting and service protocols, to meet the highest international standards.

Scheduled to host three high-profile disciplines — both short- and long-track speed skating and figure skating — the Heilongjiang Provincial Ice Sports Training Center, which consists of two competition arenas and an affiliated training rink, is expected to be the busiest and most popular venue during the Games.

Built in 1983, the centrally located, multifunctional skating hall has been renovated to present short-track speed skating and figure skating to a capacity crowd of around 2,700 spectators. The first gold medal of the Games is very likely to be awarded there in the short-track mixed 2,000m relay on the morning of Feb 8.

The critical transformation between the short-track races and the figure skating program has been tested and perfected through multiple test runs since November, ensuring the competition sessions of both disciplines can take place alternately at the same venue.

"The test events have put our operational staff through real-time drills that emulated everything that will take place during the Games, and challenged our staff with any emergency situations that might arise," said Wang Hua, venue manager of the provincial training center.

"The tests helped us build better coordination and teamwork, and improve our services at the venues."

Another venue in the city's downtown area is the Harbin Ice Hockey Stadium. Built in 1993 to host the third edition of the Asian Winter Games in 1996, it's now set to enjoy an encore by hosting the men's hockey competition at the 2025 edition.

The stadium consists of four standard rinks, including three for training, while accommodating up to 5,500 spectators in the competition hall, based on a total construction area of 32,600 square meters. It's the largest indoor training and competition venue for winter sports in Harbin.

After completing an equipment upgrade and refurbishment in August, as a rehearsal, the stadium hosted the national men's championship in October and earned very positive feedback from athletes and spectators.

"Everything and everyone involved in running competitions here have been tested and examined. The venue's operational team has also built some nice chemistry through the drills, which is quite important for smooth operation during the Games," Li Yutian, a deputy competition director with the Chinese Ice Hockey Association, said of the readiness of the stadium.

To honor its promise of hosting the Games in a sustainable and economic fashion, the Harbin organizing committee borrowed two venues on campus from the Nancheng No 1 Primary School in Pingfang district and Harbin Sport University for hosting the curling and women's hockey tournaments, respectively.

The renovation and staff training at the two venues are expected to continue facilitating the promotion of ice sports among students after the continental gala event is over, organizers said.

Contact the writer at sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn