By Xinhua writers Zhang Xiao, Wang Yong and Song Meili
BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- With the coming of the Winter Olympics in 2022, Beijing will become the first city to have host both Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Behind the spotlight are a large group of people who have worked tirelessly to push China's Olympic development forward.
The core area of Beijing's Olympic Park, featuring the National Stadium (Bird's Nest), and the National Aquatics Center (Water Cube), has for ten years been the workplace of Wu Xiaonan, chairman of Beijing's National Speed Skating Oval.
Wu can still remember many challenging moments during 2008 Olympic Games, such as the very first day of competition in the National Tennis Center, when several matches were postponed because of rain. As the person in charge, Wu was responsible for arranging the orderly departure of nearly 20,000 spectators. It was close to 4am when the delayed games finally ended.
But though the Games were fraught with difficulties, when Chinese athlete Zhang Juanjuan won the country's first gold medal that summer, hearing the cheers of the crowd and the Chinese national anthem reduced an emotional Wu to tears.
Thanks to the efforts of Wu and his team, Beijing's post-Olympic legacy lives on, with both the Bird's Nest and Water Cube frequently used for sporting activities and exhibitions.
Now, Wu devotes himself to the construction of the National Speed Skating Oval, known as the "Ice Ribbon", the city's symbolic venue to welcome the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics.
Drawing on his experience of working on the 2008 Games, Wu contines to learn the latest standards and master new requirements, and met with foreign experts to discuss the key points and preparation work of the 2022 test events.
When the 2022 Winter Olympics arrives in under three years' time, Wu will stand with tens of millions of others who have selflessly devoted themselves to ensuring a successful Olympic Games.
