New | Winter Olympic Games venues in China 'pose threat to Beijing nature reserve'
Construction of venues and snow-making may damage mountains that help protect city from dust, smog and drought, concern group says
Outdoors enthusiasts have expressed concern that alpine sports venues might be built inside a nature reserve in suburban Beijing after the city was named host of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Construction of the sites and future snow-making, they say, could damage an important "ecological barrier" that helps Beijing - a victim of chronic air pollution - ward off sandstorms.
While the celebration of Beijing's victory in bidding for the Winter Games was still underway on the weekend, hikers in Beijing waved goodbye in online forums to one of their favourite sites: the Haituo mountain range that straddles the city's border with Hebei province.
The range comprises two peaks - Da (Big) Haituo and Xiao (Little) Haituo. Those concerned about the project found in official bidding documents that the 2,198-metre high Xiao Haituo, in Beijing's Yanqing county, was the preferred site for downhill skiing events for the Games.
Trails for sledding events will be built lower down, at about the 1,000 metre mark.
