Were Beijing to be picked as the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games host city, the Wukesong MasterCard Center would be the host of all women's ice hockey events.
Back in 2008, the China National Convention Center (CNCC) was the host of the International Broadcast Center (IBC) and Main Press Center (MPC) of the Summer Games - in addition to hosting all fencing and bowling events.
The CNCC became the very first Beijing 2008 venue put to post-Games use, occurring November 2009, hosting an average of over 800 conferences per year.
"Where the world's top fencers and bowlers once competed in the Olympic Games, there are now conventions with thousands in attendance," CNCC General Manager Liu Haiying said.
"Where the IBC once stood, there are now expositions on both national and international scales."
The venue generated profit as early as 2010, paying off its entire budget for the 2008 Olympics along with interest.
Reservation space at Liu's venue is high in demand: The space enjoys an 86% rental rate per year, and convention spaces are booked for the next five years, approaching the potential dates of the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Liu and his current staff of 1,300 - of which nearly a fifth worked at the IBC/MPC for Beijing 2008 -has over the years been exporting its knowledge to a number of projects all over China, including Huairou county in Beijing, Zhuhai, Nanchang, and Hangzhou - where they are currently helping to prepare the city host next year's G20 summit.
"These (projects and staff) are all Olympic legacies and beneficiaries of lessons learned in 2008," Liu said.
Were Beijing to be picked as the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Host City this July, the CNCC would resume its role as host of the Main Media Center.
2008 helped transform Beijing into the global metropolis it is today and a crucial element is building a pool of management experience is hosting massive events both athletic and non-athletic.
There are no better concrete symbols of this legacy - and the values of Agenda 2020 - than the city's iconic venues like the Bird's Nest, Water Cube, Wukesong Master Card Center, and CNCC have blossomed from one-time Olympics hosts to integral Beijing landmarks, where one can see both Chinese rock star Wang Feng and NBA superstar LeBron James, from the Beijing Ducks to the Chinese men's aerial freestyle skiing team, or perhaps just enjoy a Sunday afternoon with family and friends sliding down water slides and floating down the lazy river.
With the rise of winter sports fever in China, hosting the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympics would undoubtedly cement these venues' futures as the hosts of tomorrow's biggest global winter sports events.
