Sweeping into China's mainstream

Beijing is embracing the opportunity to host the 2017 World Women's Curling Championship as a learning curve on the road to welcoming the world at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Often called "chess on ice", curling has long been popular in powerhouse winter-sports nations like Canada and Sweden, but remains new in China due to low exposure and lack of facilities.

The women's championship, which runs March 18-26 at the Capital Gymnasium in Beijing, provides a timely window for the sport to engage more fans with its unique combination of strategy, precision and teamwork.