Beijing has been making great strides in promoting the city's bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics as of late. Most recently, the city has opened a 15,000 square-meter ice park outside of the MasterCard Center.

The festival event called Iceworld Sports Land, a festival first originated by the Dutch, was implemented by Bloomage International Investment Group, owner of the MasterCard Center. The event aims to meet the growing demand for winter sports in China, while also promoting awareness for Beijing's bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2022.

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In addition to the outdoor ice-skating rink, there's a 600 square-meter bumper-car rink and a 10-meter high ice slide. The new Iceworld Sports Land reportedly utilized ice-making technology from the Netherlands that's capable of keeping ice frozen even in areas up to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).

The outdoor park began operating on December 9 and has already received thousands of visits from Chinese winter enthusiasts. Admission to the festival event costs 80 yuan ($13) for a 90-minute skate session and operators are expecting the price to attract many more fans.

 "Scenes which saw people packed in the park showed that the Chinese people are getting more interested in winter sports with Beijing bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics," said Tan Juhua, manager of the park. "It gave us confidence to promote the ice park in China and opened a huge market for us."

Additionally, the 14th China Chongli Skiing Festival was launched in Beijing's surrounding city of Zhangjiakou receiving 2,000 skiing enthusiasts on December 6.

Beijing is also set to host the aerial portion of the Freestyle Skiing World Cup beginning tomorrow, December 20, at the Bird's Nest stadium where some of the best aerialists in the world compete against each other.

"These festival events and high-level competitions will further boost the public's passion for winter sports while promoting knowledge and skills. This is crucial for us to win the bid for the 2022 Olympics," said deputy secretary-general of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games Bid Committee, Zhao Yinggang.

Tags2022 Winter Olympics, winter sports, Iceworld Sports Land, ice-skating, MasterCard Center