In an announcement that encapsulates the city's shift away from coal-burning and its zeal for winter sports, Beijing will convert a former coal mine into an Olympic-standard skiing facility that will open by the end of the year.
After it ceases operations at the end of the month, the west-end Muchengjian Colliery will be repurposed into a winter sports facility for professional and recreational skiers.
The conversion will include altering a 1.25 kilometer-long coal mine tunnel into an air-conditioned ski course. Specialized for cross-country skiing, the trail will feature an 18-meter drop and will be open 365 days a year.
The converted mine will also host a network of ski trails on the slopes above it, in addition to a ski jump training facility.
The world's first indoor ski tunnel opened in 1997 in Vuokatti, Finland (shown above). The 1,210-meter-long tunnel is equipped with snow-making machines along its route that help maintain temperatures of -9 degrees Celsius.
Other year-round indoor ski facilities include the world's longest indoor ski tunnel in Torsby, Sweden, as well as the nearly 2-kilometer-long facility in Oberhof, Germany.
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Once one of the major six mines that supplied Beijing with coal, Muchengjian is also part of a winter sports park that is scheduled to host snowboarding events for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympic Games, for which the majority of facilities have already been built, aside from new developments like the speed skating arena.
In light of this announcement, Beijing has plans to repurpose other locations that were used for large-scale industrial natural resource gathering. Last year, the city announced plans to convert the Gaozhuang rock quarry into a "white marble ruins" tourist attraction.
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Images: Nordic Ski Racer, All Weather Snowtek