(Beijing Daily) -- The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) declared that it had officially wrote to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to nominate Beijing to bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, when Beijing will undertake ice sports and Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province will stage snow events in Chongli county under its jurisdiction.

Beijing, after the exceptional Olympic Games in 2008, will bid for another grand comprehensive sports competition. If winning the bid, Beijing will become the first city which holds both Summer and Winter Olympics in the history of Olympiad. After learning the news, IOC Member and former Winter Olympic champion YANG Yang said it was really inspiring.

Winter Olympics have taken place in Asia for three times.

Next February, the 22nd Winter Olympic Games will kick off in Sochi, Russia, and includes 8 Olympic sports like skating (Speed Skating, Figure Skating and Short Track Speed Skating), skiing (Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, Freestyle Skiing, Snowboard and Nordic Combined), Ice Hockey, Curling, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Skeleton and Luge, totaling 98 events higher than 86 in the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

The Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920 included Figure Skating and Ice Hockey as competition sports. The international sports week saw winter sports in Chamonix, France before the 1924 Summer Olympics. Since 1925, IOC decided to hold Winter Olympics every four years and accredited the international sports week in Chamonix as the 1st Winter Olympics.

In 1986, IOC decided that Summer and Winter Olympics would be staged separately after 1992, when the two Olympics happened in the same year. Since 1994, the Winter Olympics has stepped into its own track.

European and American countries have excelled in winter sports and most previous Winter Olympics also took place in European and American cities. Of all 23 cities which had hosted and will host Winter Olympics, only three are in Asia, i.e. the 11th Sapporo Winter Olympics in Japan in February 1972, the 18th Nagano Winter Olympics 26 years later, and the 23rd PyeongChang Olympic Game unveiled by the IOC in 2011.

By now, Oslo in Norway, Alma-Ata in Kazakhstan and other cities have already bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics or intend to do it. Munich defeated by PyeongChang in 2011 will also decide whether to enter the race again by referendum. Besides, Barcelona, which held the 1992 Summer Olympics, also plans to bid. In the Olympic history, there has never a city which hosts both Summer and Winter Olympics.

Beijing and Hebei boasts for advantageous soft and hard power.

COC has officially agreed to bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics in the name of Beijing. Former COC Secretary-General WEI Jizhong said that the bid showcased our confidence in development. This was the second time for Chinese city to bid for the Winter Olympics. Earlier, Harbin had strived for the 2010 Winter Olympics, but failed to be candidate city.

Beijing has been dedicated to building itself into an international sports center for recent years, and organized several large-scale international sport games with acclaimed capability of holding competitions and city reception. Venue resources and rich experience in holding events, as well as perfect urban infrastructure are the biggest strengths for Beijing to bid for the Winter Olympics. The Capital Indoor Stadium serves as the “base” for many national teams of ice sports, and stages the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships and ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating for many times. The National Stadium, Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center, Beijing Workers Stadium and other Olympic venues have also ice-making conditions.

It is know that winter sports are popular with Beijing citizens. Over 30 ice rinks in city almost make profits, and several set up Figure Skating Clubs and Ice Hockey Clubs. Every winter, the Shichahai outdoor rink, as one symbol of Old Beijing, welcomes an endless stream of customers, and the “Snow Season” in the Bird’s Nest is also crowded with visitors. Beijing Nanshan Ski Village, Beijing Lianhuashan Ski Resort and Badaling Ski Resort are also famous.

Among ski enthusiasts, Chongli County in Zhajiakou is also a ski resort for its stable snowfall and modest wind force and temperature. With sound skiing conditions and ancillary facilities, Zhangjiakou is about 220km away from Beijing along the highway from Madian Bridge to Chongli County. The Beijing-Zhangjiakou intercity railway project is expected to be constructed by the end of 2013. Once completed, it will take only an hour to drive from Beijing to Zhajiakou.

However, IOC has an unwritten rule that two consecutive Olympic Games will not happen in a continent. After the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, is the 2022 Winter Olympics still staged in Asia?

According to WEI Jizhong, IOC pays more attention to a state’s stable and economic strength when selecting a host city. At the same time, whichever successful or not, the bid will be very precious, and will help promote winter sports development, speed up regional economic growth and enrich culture life of the people.

The host city will be unveiled in 2015.

It is regulated that the host city of the 2022 Winter Olympics will be disclosed in July 2015, and candidate cities will be selected next July.

This June, IOC officially announced to launch the bid process of the 24th Winter Olympics in 2022. In the first phase, the national or regional Olympic committee where cities inclined to bid are located must apply to IOC before Nov. 14th, and submit candidature files by Mar. 14th next year. Later, IOC will select several candidate cities and declare a list of candidate cities in July, 2014.

Once candidate cities selected, the bid will enter into the second phase. The applicant cities have to submit final candidature files in January, 2015. Later, IOC will make local survey and complete survey reports. At the 127th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur in Jul. 31st, 2015, IOC will vote to decide over the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics.