Winter Olympics viewers were left befuddled on Tuesday, after the backdrop for the anticipated Big Air event were not snow-capped mountains, but four enormous nuclear cooling towers.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games – which has already seen its fair share of controversy – had the Twitterverse up in arms, with users, athletes, and commentators alike recoiling at the sight of the adjacent concrete monoliths, with some even labelling it a “decrepit, power plant graveyard”.
However, the grey concrete towers, chimney stacks and deteriorating factories – in place of the more familiar snowy mountain ranges – are not an abandoned nuclear power plant, but remnants of a deserted steel mill in Beijing’s Shijingshan District.
Honestly, what are we even doing here. pic.twitter.com/vtj7FarSVv
— Michael Antonelli (@BullandBaird) February 8, 2022
The mill was founded in 1918, but was abandoned prior to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, as a means to curb the heavy pollution resulting from the factory’s ongoing steel production.
While it doesn’t look like much, the factory has since been renovated and repurposed by engineering and design company ARUP.
These days, the steel mill – formerly run by state-owned company, Shougang Group – is home to business hubs, a museum, cafes, shops, and, of course, the Big Air Shougang Park, the only event being held in downtown Beijing at this years’ Games.
The site even hosted an electronic music festival in 2013.
While many denounced Shoungang Park, others defended its peculiar scenery, with some Twitter users saying building a giant ski jump next to decaying cooling towers – each branded with the Games’ official logo – actually looked kind of cool.
Big Air Shougang is built on the site of a former steel mill that's been turned into a nature park as part of an urban regeneration project. It looks grey and brown because…. it's winter there. pic.twitter.com/Mc0eQLLgor
— 『∫∫』 (@stygian_silence) February 7, 2022
https://twitter.com/T_Stack_/status/1490723985713156102
The aesthetics of Big Air Shougang have sparked debate online, but it’s undoubtedly a very cool venue to watch #FreestyleSkiing live. #beijing2022 pic.twitter.com/rd4tGKaHXf
— Sean Miyaguchi (@BallonDoh) February 9, 2022
It’s not China’s answer to The Simpsons’ nuclear-powered hometown of Springfield, but it’s another interesting aspect of these bizarre – yet, by no means boring – Winter Olympic Games.
