Beijing 2022 Breathes New Life into Old Industrial Site

The entrance gate to the working site of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is in Shijingshan district, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

Located in Shijingshan district in western Beijing, Shougang Industrial Park was originally a production base for Shougang Group, one of China's largest steel makers with a 100-year history. While Beijing becomes increasingly concerned about the environment, the steel-making enterprise, which generated great pollution for decades, in 2011 relocated to Caofeidian, a district in Tangshan, North China's Hebei province, leaving huge industrial relics in the capital.

Silos originally used to store iron ore are transformed into office buildings for the Winter Olympics Organizing Committee in Shougang Industrial Park, western Beijing, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

After Beijing's successful bid for the Winter Olympics in 2015, the vacated quarter got an opportunity for transformation -- it would house the Winter Olympics Organizing Committee.

Over the past years, the dull industrial buildings have been reborn as a hub for the Winter Olympic Games, carrying all the Chinese people's dreams.

Silos in the Shougang Industrial Park are now office buildings that rise up from the old industrial site. Steel frames and its conveyor used to support transporting iron ore remain on the site in Beijing, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

The steel frames left from the time the Shougang Industrial Park was operational in western Beijing run across the work space for the Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

Four steel Chinese characters that mean "Forging Dreams" in English are displayed at an exhibition area for the Shougang Group to commemorate its relocation in the Shougang Industrial Park in western Beijing, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

Steel frames link to the industrial-building-turned office building for the Winter Olympics Organizing Committee in the Shougang Industrial Park in western Beijing, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

Old furnaces are seen in the Shougang Industrial Park in western Beijing, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

A locomotive that for 38 years carried iron ore remains in Shougang Industrial Park in western Beijing, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

The Chinese national flag, Olympic flag and the emblems for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games can be seen from the photo taken on Aug 7, 2019 in the Shougang Industrial Park in western Beijing. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

A sculpture of ice skaters themed on the Winter Olympics stands at the Shougang Industrial Park in western Beijing, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

The lake in the Shougang Industrial Park is a place to relax for the staff of the Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

The characters meaning "ice" in different languages hang over the roof of the Beijing 2022 Exhibition Center at Shougang Industrial Park in western Beijing, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

The helmet once used by Olympic skating champion Wu Dajing is displayed at the Beijing 2022 Exhibition Center in Shougang Industrial Park in western Beijing, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

The Olympic flag is shown at the Beijing 2022 Exhibition Center in the Shougang Industrial Park in western Beijing, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

The panda puppet used at the closing ceremony of the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics is on display at the Beijing 2022 Exhibition Center in Shougang Industrial Park in western Beijing, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]

A visitor experiences the Winter Olympic event bobsleigh with a virtual reality device at Beijing 2022 Exhibition Center in Shougang Industrial Park in western Beijing, Aug 7, 2019. [Photo by Zhang Wenfang/chinadaily.com.cn]