Green Games on track in Beijing

Plans are in place to turn the sleek venue into a sports and entertainment center for the public beyond 2022 by separating the giant ice surface into multiple rinks for figure skating, short-track speedskating and ice hockey sessions, according to venue operators.

"The design has made the venue pretty flexible to cater to different needs of different groups of ice sports fans. It will be an affordable choice for local residents to enjoy entertainment on ice after 2022," said Song Jiafeng, deputy general manager of the venue.

Linked by a new high-speed railway to Beijing downtown and Zhangjiakou, the suburban Yanqing district is also bustling with construction on Xiaohaituo Mountain, where the new National Alpine Skiing Center and National Sliding Center are being built.

Despite massive earthwork and engineering, the projects for the skiing center and the sliding track-a facility for bobsled, luge and skeleton-have taken vegetation protection into account.

Based on an evaluation conducted before construction, over 20,000 trees have been transplanted to a new 53-hectare forest park from the mountain ridges where ski slopes and sledding tracks are being built, according to property owner Beijing Enterprises Group.

"To protect the fragile ecological environment and ensure a minimal impact on forest and wildlife is the top priority of our construction work," said Liang Dedong, an executive of the group overseeing environmental protection and sustainable development.

"We are proud to see that over 90 percent of the transplanted trees have survived and flourished in their new home at the park."