Public welcome Winter Olympics: Beijing mayor

Elated Beijing 2022 bid officials (top) including Vice-Premier Liu Yandong (center), residents from Zhangjiakou (middle) and people in Beijing cheer as the capital, along with Zhangjiakou, wins the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Photos by Wang Lili / Xinhua / Zou Hong and Feng Yongbin / China Daily

BEIJING - Beijing's mayor has refuted claims that the Chinese public are unenthusiastic about the Winter Olympics, saying they welcome the chance to host the event in 2022 and expect to benefit from it.

Beijing won the bid to host the Games on Friday. It will be the first ever city to host both the summer and winter Olympics.

However, foreign media reported that Chinese public opinion was at odds with the fervor for the Games presented in local media.

Mayor Wang Anshun, also president of bid for the Games, said at a briefing on Tuesday that an opinion poll showed that more than 90 percent of Chinese people supported the bid.

"The poll was not conducted by the Chinese government itself but by a third-party company entrusted by the International Olympic Committee," added Wang.

He said such support was rarely seen in other cities bidding for the Winter Olympic Games. "It fully demonstrates the Chinese people's anticipation of the event."

Many common Chinese support the Games because of the galvanizing effect they are likely to have on public welfare schemes. The government has vowed to cut the density of PM 2.5, airborne particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, by around 45 percent from 2012 levels by 2022.

In addition, a high-speed railway linking Beijing and Zhangjiakou, where some of the skiing events will be held, is expected to be completed around 2019, greatly cutting travel time between the two cities.

"We definitely support an event which can bring us more blue skies and convenient public transport," said Beijing citizen Zhang Xi.