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Olympic-sized dreams come true
November 6, 2009, Friday
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HANGZHOU is building a world-class Olympic Sports and Exhibition City to attract international events. Sports facilities will be open to the public. Pan Zheng reports. The 584-hectare Hangzhou Olympic Sports and Exhibition City now under construction will be a magnet for international sports and exhibitions when it is completed over four years.
Total investment will be over 35.3 billion yuan (US$5.2 billion).
The earliest to open will be the sprawling exhibition center in 2011.
The Olympic City, one of the biggest of its kind in China, will be built to Olympic Games standards and sports facilities will be open to the public.
The project lies in both Xiaoshan and Gaoxin districts, next to the Qiantang and Qijia rivers.
The core zone will be a multifunctional urban complex covering 150 hectares.
Two subway lines will link it with the city center.
The Olympic City will have four major structures: the main outdoor stadium, tennis center, indoor stadium and swimming center.
The main stadium area covers 23 hectares, including a 400-meter track and standard football pitch. It can accommodate 80,000 spectators.
It will be a multifunctional space for cultural and commercial use and entertainment.
The tennis center is next to the main stadium. There will be one court with 10,000 seats, two courts with 2,000 seats each, eight courts with 1,600 temporary seats each. It will have 10 practice courts and two indoor courts. Construction will begin next year and be completed in 2013.
The comprehensive indoor stadium will cover 40 hectares and contain three sports areas.
The main gymnasium will feature indoor sports including basketball, badminton, volleyballs, table tennis, boxing, gymnastics, martial arts and indoor football.
The swimming center will feature a standard 50mx25m pool and a 25mx25m diving pool; the practice gymnasium will have a 50mx16m pool that will be open daily to the public. Construction begins this month and will be completed in 2013.
Besides sports stadiums, a grand exhibition center is also a very important part of the core zone.
The entire area will reach over 84 hectares, including 7,500 standard exhibition booths, and a "city hall" rooftop that will be open to the public.
Construction will be completed in 2011, the first part of the core zone to be put in use.
"In 2004, Hangzhou decided to stress the development of sports, but the current facilities have always been a weakness," says Hangzhou Vice Mayor Chen Xiaoping, who is in charge of sports.
According to the international urban criteria, a city of more than 2 million residents should have at least two grand stadiums. But Hangzhou, with a population of over 5 million, has only one, the Huanglong Sports Center.
Hangzhou has never hosted comprehensive sports events, national or international, because it lacks facilities.
The Huanglong Sports Center in the city center faces the problem of traffic congestion during major events.
"Without field and facilities, dreams are forever dreams only," says Chen.
Developing major sports facilities has been proved to benefit city development, as seen in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, and Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.
Guangzhou built Tianhe Sports Center for the 6th National Games, and Nanjing built the Olympic Sports Center in Hexi District for the 10th National Games.
Now both complexes have become new city centers.
"Compared with Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, we still need a lot of improvement in sports and exhibition facilities," says Ye Ming, Hangzhou's deputy Party secretary.
In all sports complexes, one of the major issues is proper use and maintenance after major events, such as the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
"After the construction is completed, all the stadiums will open to the public for free," says Party Secretary Wang Guoping. "Everyone shall benefit from Hangzhou's achievements." Taking it easy at global leisure exhibition The 4th China International Leisure Industry Exhibition gets underway today in the Hangzhou Peace International Convention and Exhibition Center. It runs through Monday.
It will feature 80 international organizations and entrepreneurs from 21 countries and regions.
It will include Indian song and dance, Chilean wine tasting, Polish handicrafts and American auto touring among hundreds of leisure activities.
The exhibition is divided into six sections, including an Excellent Souvenirs section. Famous agricultural products will be offered for sale.
Address: 158 Shaoxing Rd, Hangzhou
How to get there: Bus No. 86, 80, 47, 22, 72 to Peace Square stop.
Total investment will be over 35.3 billion yuan (US$5.2 billion).
The earliest to open will be the sprawling exhibition center in 2011.
The Olympic City, one of the biggest of its kind in China, will be built to Olympic Games standards and sports facilities will be open to the public.
The project lies in both Xiaoshan and Gaoxin districts, next to the Qiantang and Qijia rivers.
The core zone will be a multifunctional urban complex covering 150 hectares.
Two subway lines will link it with the city center.
The Olympic City will have four major structures: the main outdoor stadium, tennis center, indoor stadium and swimming center.
The main stadium area covers 23 hectares, including a 400-meter track and standard football pitch. It can accommodate 80,000 spectators.
It will be a multifunctional space for cultural and commercial use and entertainment.
The tennis center is next to the main stadium. There will be one court with 10,000 seats, two courts with 2,000 seats each, eight courts with 1,600 temporary seats each. It will have 10 practice courts and two indoor courts. Construction will begin next year and be completed in 2013.
The comprehensive indoor stadium will cover 40 hectares and contain three sports areas.
The main gymnasium will feature indoor sports including basketball, badminton, volleyballs, table tennis, boxing, gymnastics, martial arts and indoor football.
The swimming center will feature a standard 50mx25m pool and a 25mx25m diving pool; the practice gymnasium will have a 50mx16m pool that will be open daily to the public. Construction begins this month and will be completed in 2013.
Besides sports stadiums, a grand exhibition center is also a very important part of the core zone.
The entire area will reach over 84 hectares, including 7,500 standard exhibition booths, and a "city hall" rooftop that will be open to the public.
Construction will be completed in 2011, the first part of the core zone to be put in use.
"In 2004, Hangzhou decided to stress the development of sports, but the current facilities have always been a weakness," says Hangzhou Vice Mayor Chen Xiaoping, who is in charge of sports.
According to the international urban criteria, a city of more than 2 million residents should have at least two grand stadiums. But Hangzhou, with a population of over 5 million, has only one, the Huanglong Sports Center.
Hangzhou has never hosted comprehensive sports events, national or international, because it lacks facilities.
The Huanglong Sports Center in the city center faces the problem of traffic congestion during major events.
"Without field and facilities, dreams are forever dreams only," says Chen.
Developing major sports facilities has been proved to benefit city development, as seen in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, and Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.
Guangzhou built Tianhe Sports Center for the 6th National Games, and Nanjing built the Olympic Sports Center in Hexi District for the 10th National Games.
Now both complexes have become new city centers.
"Compared with Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, we still need a lot of improvement in sports and exhibition facilities," says Ye Ming, Hangzhou's deputy Party secretary.
In all sports complexes, one of the major issues is proper use and maintenance after major events, such as the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
"After the construction is completed, all the stadiums will open to the public for free," says Party Secretary Wang Guoping. "Everyone shall benefit from Hangzhou's achievements." Taking it easy at global leisure exhibition The 4th China International Leisure Industry Exhibition gets underway today in the Hangzhou Peace International Convention and Exhibition Center. It runs through Monday.
It will feature 80 international organizations and entrepreneurs from 21 countries and regions.
It will include Indian song and dance, Chilean wine tasting, Polish handicrafts and American auto touring among hundreds of leisure activities.
The exhibition is divided into six sections, including an Excellent Souvenirs section. Famous agricultural products will be offered for sale.
Address: 158 Shaoxing Rd, Hangzhou
How to get there: Bus No. 86, 80, 47, 22, 72 to Peace Square stop.
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