Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday hailed the successful hosting of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and put forward five-pronged Beijing 2022 spirits, at a ceremony awarding individuals and units who made outstanding contributions to Beijing's hosting of the event. 

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and a sports enthusiast, who attended the opening of the Beijing 2022 Games, attributed the successful event to the Party, "the most reliable backbone for the Chinese people to make great achievements," as well as the system of concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks.

A hundred forty-eight individuals including one posthumously and the same number of units were awarded for their outstanding contributions to the Games. Snowboarding idol and Olympic gold medalist Su Yiming, phenomenal freestyle skier Gu Ailing and short track speed skater Wu Dajing were among them. The participants of Friday's ceremony included athletes, volunteers, media, officials, organizers and venue workers, the Global Times learned.    

The gala came two days after the last batch of Olympic-related people left the closed-loop bubble. "China presented the world with a streamlined, safe and splendid Games, honoring its promise to the international community," Xi said. 

Xi noted that against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has put all participants' health first and strictly implemented the anti-COVID measures. 

During the Games, only 0.45 percent of personnel under closed-loop management tested positive for COVID-19. And all of them received effective treatment and were well cared for. No cluster of infections or spillover cases occurred and dynamic zero-COVID was maintained in cities, Xi noted.

"As some foreign athletes have said, if there was a gold medal for responding to the pandemic, then China deserves it," Xi said. 

Besides the applause when Xi hailed the glory of the historic event that embodies the international people's efforts, applause also broke out again and again when Xi mentioned the bean buns and dumplings that became popular among foreign athletes and Chinese pies loved by Gu Ailing during his speech. 

Xi said that Chinese people not only have the willingness and determination to make contributions to advancing the Olympic movement and promoting solidarity and friendship among people across the world, but also have the ability and enthusiasm to make even greater contributions.

Li Xiangru, an expert from Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, told the Global Times that the large number and wide range of groups and individuals honored showed that China was involved in the coordination of various departments during the hosting of the event, reflecting China's comprehensive national strength.  

The facts have proven that the Communist Party of China is the most reliable backbone for the Chinese people to make great achievements, Xi said.

Graphic:GT

Spirit and legacy

Described by Xi as the Olympics in which "patriotism was fully manifested," "gathering the momentum for national rejuvenation," Beijing 2022 witnessed Team China's record-breaking performance.

Team China pocketed 9 gold medals and 15 medals in all in the 2022 Winter Olympics and 18 gold medals in the Winter Paralympics, creating the best performance in history.

President Xi summarized the elements behind the success as five-pronged spirits: "bearing in mind the big picture, being confident and open, rising to the challenges, pursuing excellence, and creating a better future together."

"One of the greatest features of the Olympic movement is its internationality. When you look at the Olympic Games from a narrow national perspective, you can't be a qualified host. That is why the host city must embrace the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind," Ru Xiuying, the director of Olympic Research Center of Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, told the Global Times on Friday. 

However, although the Olympic values are universal, the modern Olympic movement was born in the West, and in its whole development process, the host countries were mainly concentrated in Europe and the US, Ru said.

According to statistics, the US has hosted four Winter Olympics and four Summer Olympics, while Asian countries have hosted only four times.  

In the face of the pandemic, we held the Winter Olympics as scheduled, but also integrated Chinese culture, green environmental protection and other concepts throughout the event, which reflected the Chinese people's cultural confidence, Ru said.   

According to President Xi, 346 million Chinese have participated in winter sports activities and ice and snow events have been held since the preparations of the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games started. 

Xi stressed cherishing and carrying forward abundant intellectual wealth and valuable experience harvested in the seven-year extraordinary process of preparation and hosting of the Beijing 2022. He also called for efforts to manage and utilize the legacy of the Games. 

When it comes to the legacy of the Beijing 2022, experts view it more about spiritual than material.

The ski resort in Altay, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region attracts tourists from all over China this winter.Photo: VCG

Bringing 300 million people to participate in snow and ice sports is one of the most precious legacies, said Ru. 

Participation in ice and snow sports will boost the quality of life of the public, said Ru. She also noted that winter sports can play its unique educational value in all-round education in elementary and secondary schools, and it would also boost the economic development of the sports industry and tourism in China.  

Through the hosting of the Winter Olympics, China will bring higher quality public service products to the people, improve the leisure cultural life of the people, and meet the needs of the people's healthy life, which is a far-reaching legacy, Ru added.  

She said the hosting of the Winter Olympics also helped the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. 

According to Li Xiangru, who focuses more on the use of Olympic facilities, it can be expected that Olympic venues and facilities will not only serve international events, but also cater for national fitness, so that people in these excellent sports venues "feel the strength of the motherland, and the charm of sports."  

Xi on Friday called for faster steps in building China into a country strong in sports. According to Li, the words "sports power" indicated that the Winter Olympics are not only about competitions, but also closely related to the Chinese dream and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Wang Dazhao, a Beijing-based senior sports commentator, told the Global Times that Xi's speech is not only a 7-year summary, but reminds people that winter sports promotion and participation should not be left behind after the Winter Olympics.  

Wang noted that the Olympic Games can promote the society and economy of the host country for 10-15 years. "After the Olympic Games, many things stand at a higher starting point." 

"A few decades ago, China was striving desperately for a gold medal to erase the stigma of being the 'sick man of East Asia.' No one can mock China now in sports, but the physical health of children has always been a concern for the Chinese leadership. Under the pandemic, the importance of physical fitness has been highlighted," Wang said. 

The problems we face have not really changed, but China is now on a higher level to deal with them, Wang said.