Hundreds of thousands people have been gathering in Beijing, Zhangjiakou and across China this week to celebrate Olympic Day and to commemorate the foundation of the modern Olympic Games on June 23, 1894.
Celebrations illustrate China's widespread passion for sport and local residents' fervent support behind the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Bid, a little more than a month before the Host City Election.
The occasion coincides with the Dragon Boat national public holiday in China that Chinese people are used to spend outside, camping and hiking or enjoying summer weather and sport activities in green areas across the city or at Beijing's magnificent lakes.
The week of Olympic-themed events started on Saturday, June 20, with 20,000 runners taking part in Color Run in Beijing's Fengtai district, alongside Chinese Olympic and Paralympic legends led by Ping Yali, first-ever Chinese Paralympic champion who won gold in long jump at the 1984 Paralympic Games in New York.
Amateurs of a more traditional running activity were also able to join the Olympic Day Run which departed on Saturday from the Beijing National Olympic Center. Minister of Sports of China Liu Peng, as well as Beijing 2022 Ambassadors Li Nina, two-time Olympic champion in aerial skiing, and Guo Jingjing, most decorated female diver of all times, came out to show their support to the Run.
Saturday also saw the culmination of the 10th Dragon Boat Culture Festival in Yanqing which started 3 weeks earlier and this year included presentations of the Beijing 2022 Bid plans along with the traditional dragon boat races, mirroring the festivities in Beijing's Shicha Lake District.
This week also marks more than 200 million views on Weibo, Chinese microblogging website, of the song "Come Ski at the Great Wall" recorded by the Chinese pop idol Lu Han and popular singer David Tao (also available on YouTube).
Olympic Day celebrations will continue throughout the week with "A Love of Ice and Snow" at the Beijing National Aquatics Center (Water Cube) on Tuesday morning. On Tuesday evening in Beijing's Huailai County, there will be a large-scale arts exhibition showcasing Beijing and Zhangjiakou united on the basis of a shared dream of hosting the Winter Olympics.
The rest of the week will see multiple large-scale events throughout Beijing and Zhangjiakou including numerous bike marathons, fun runs and even a thousand-person shadow boxing performance at Miyun county, which is located on the border of Beijing and Hebei province.
