Former“Steel City”for Beijing Winter Olympics

by Tian Xiao

On February 15， 2022， Chinese snowboarder Su Yiming claimed a historic gold medal in the men’s snowboard big air at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Several photos of the 17-year-old athlete against the backdrop of massive disused cooling towers beside the Shougang Big Air， one of the most stylish venues of Beijing 2022， went viral on social media.

Shougang Park evokes memories of Beijing’s industrial past. It used to be home to Shougang Group. Established in 1919， Shougang is one of China’s most time-honored iron and steel makers. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949， the country was in dire need of iron and steel for economic development. Plagued by poverty and backwardness back then， the country needed Beijing to carry out more production activities， and Shougang became a crucial part in the overall economic plan.

Entering the 21st century， Shougang has developed into a modern steel compound with a complete industrial chain and sound infrastructure facilities. Later， with Beijing’s rapid urban expansion， the group’s location， which used to be considered in the western suburbs of the capital， became part of the urban area of Beijing. The limited land area and environmental protection measures left not much room for the future development of the steel enterprise in the capital. In 2005， the steel giant’s relocation to neighboring Hebei Province started， and its last furnace in Beijing ceased production in 2010. The former blast furnaces and workshops are still there in Shougang Park， but now silent and still. A perfect fusion of modernism and industrial style made the park a vivid example of urban regeneration and a new landmark of western Beijing.

Shougang has a close connection to both the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. To ensure clear skies for the 2008 Games， Shougang began relocating its iron and steel industry in accordance with the country’s Olympic strategy and Beijing’s new city development plan in 2005. It shut down all Beijing production by December 2010. In 2018， Shougang Group joined hands with the Olympic Games to become the official urban regeneration services partner of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. It served as the home to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and was transformed into a training base for China’s national ice sports team and the big air venue for the Games. These facilities will become the most lasting legacies of the 2022 Games.

The silo is one of the most typical and unique structures in the Shougang compound. It was originally used to store raw materials for blast furnace production. In May 2016， the first group of staffers from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games moved into office buildings retrofitted from industrial facilities like the silo. Soon， professionals from related fields from all over the world began gathering in the Shougang compound to prepare various services for Beijing 2022.

Cultural and creative industries can also be found in Shougang Park. An exhibition center for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in an old factory building harnessed modern technologies to display the industrial legacy and trace China’s long history of winter sports. Amazing water landscapes and a mountain with more than 50 cultural sites also call the park home. A new paradigm for integrated development of mountain， water， and industrial fossils is gradually taking shape.

The former “steel city” has changed and sees new stories happening every day. Nowadays， tourists visiting Shougang Park enjoy sci-fi elements， trendy sports， unmanned technology， and elements of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. The park has completed its transformation from an obsolete industrial area into a tourist attraction featuring industrial heritage and cultural creation.