Welcome to the Beijing Winter Olympics

In late November, the temperatures dropped below zero with an occasional gust of northern wind chilling Zhangshanying Township in Yanqing District, Beijing. Liu Xiaojing, a 34-year-old, hails from nearby Huailai County, Hebei Province and married a man from Zhangshanying Township nine years ago. She was quite familiar with the birth and development of the “Winter Olympic Township” homestay community and shared her information with a crowd gathered in a small courtyard. She described her feelings upon visiting the “Hidden in the World” homestay to show up for work as “happier than being a bride.”

“Winter Olympic Township”

After her job interview with “Hidden in the World” in November 2019, Liu visited a special villa. From a distance, the red-brick buildings looked like a big ship about to set sail, rendering simple artistic flavor. After ascending its curved terrace, Liu looked ahead to the north to be greeted by the National Alpine Skiing Center — a venue of the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics on Haituo Mountain.

“I thought, if tourists from China and abroad witness the venue from that terrace, they will definitely be as happy as I was,” Liu recalled.

During the Beijing Winter Olympics, Yanqing District will host events such as luge, bobsleigh, and alpine skiing. To promote the development of the tourism and accommodation industry, the district’s Administration of Culture and Tourism organized 100 homestay companies to build a brand dubbed the “Winter Olympic Township” homestay community. The company “Hidden in the World,” launched in March 2015 and based in Houheilongmiao Village, Zhangshanying Township, has developed rapidly. It now manages 19 single-family buildings, among which 14 villas feature different styles and five are designer types including the one that Liu visited.

“Yanqing District’s preparations for the Winter Olympics are a blessing for ‘Hidden in the World,’” said Nie Yipin, deputy general manager of the company. “The transportation network has been upgraded with three highways and one high-speed railway covering most of our homestay community. The landscape and living conditions of the village have also improved. Moreover, the local government has provided special funds and supportive policies for areas near the venues of the Winter Olympics.”

Jing Villa

On December 1, 2019, Liu joined “Hidden in the World.” Contrasting to her previous work in the catering management industry in downtown Beijing, Liu’s employment at home has enabled her to stay closer to her family and kept her in a good mood. Her new job also facilitated promotion from a housekeeper to a project manager. Later, Liu began to operate Jing Villa, a villa named after her, in partnership with her company. She received dividend income and gained a sense of identity in this process.

“Alongside a project manager, I am also a partner of the company,” Liu smiled. “I used to be so occupied and never felt a sense of accomplishment whereas now my life is enriched through my work and operating Jing Villa.”

“Hidden in the World” adopted a business model in cooperation with villagers, which has activated “sleeping” resources and strengthened the collective economy as well. Villagers can choose to rent their unused houses for yearly returns of about 20,000 yuan (US$3,132) simply by letting the homestay operator fund renovation and operations. They can also invest in renovating the houses according to a design plan and give them to the homestay operator for management for an annual dividend at a 50 percent rate, amounting to over 200,000 yuan (US$31,320).

According to Nie Yipin, operations often cause “a lot of problems for the village such as traffic, crowds, noise, and sanitation issues.” “Hidden in the World” donates five percent of its profit to a public fund for village construction to drive rural development and industrial transformation.

A Sincere Welcome

Since learning that the Beijing Winter Olympics would be held near her village, Liu has been looking forward to “welcoming visitors from China and beyond.” But on October 27, 2021, commencement of the 100-day countdown to the Games brought an official announcement that COVID-19 prevention and control efforts would involve “not selling tickets to spectators beyond the Chinese mainland,” which did disappoint her.

“Learning that sports enthusiasts couldn’t attend the Games in person made me quite sad at first,” Liu said. “After all, it’s a huge blow to our homestay industry. However, I have great expectations for how we will make the best of the ice and snow sports and the venues after the Games. I hope to see a multi-industry economic network including homestays that drives the economy of the surrounding areas.”

“Hidden in the World” has been preparing for the post-pandemic era and the post-Winter Olympic era. The company offers a chance to experience the charm of ice and snow sports while staying in villas equipped with ski equipment, snowboards, and mini ski slopes. It has also worked closely with a local farmer ski team to popularize knowledge of ice and snow sports and with the surrounding Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort to offer tourists training courses.

According to a report released by the China Tourism Academy at the 2021 China Ice and Snow Tourism Development Forum on January 5, 2021, in the 2020-2021 snow season, the number of ice and snow tourists in China would reach 230 million, and the revenue of ice and snow tourism in the country would surpass 390 billion yuan (US$61 billion).

“At least for now, I can still hope to see tourists from urban Beijing to the Winter Olympics, right?”