A true champion behind China's drive for building a sporting powerhouse
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In 2015, 16.8 percent of the 100,000 residents in Chongli, Hebei Province were classified as living below China's national poverty line, with most locals leaving to work in Beijing and other major cities.
Nowadays this mountainous town, where most of the snow events will be staged during the 2022 Winter Olympics, has seen a boom in skiing tourism in recent years. Thanks to the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed rail link which went into operation at the end of 2019, a four-hour drive has been cut to a 50-minute train ride to travel from Beijing to Chongli for skiing.