Beijing has been promoting winter sports among people with disabilities in recent years, and more than 10,000 people with disabilities take part in various ice and snow sports every year.
Twelve athletes from Beijing are participating in the ongoing 2022 Winter Paralympics and competing in 28 events across five categories. Both the number of athletes and events are record highs.
Since 2016, the city has held ice and snow festivals for people with disabilities every year. The number of participants skyrocketed from 5,000 in 2016 to 30,000 in 2019, according to media reports. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event has attracted more than 10,000 people both in 2020 and 2021.
Beijing is also opening more venues for people with disabilities to engage in winter sports. The curling and ice hockey venue at the Beijing Cultural and Sports Service Center for People with Disabilities, which is the training venue for Beijing's wheelchair curling team, is open to people with disabilities when the team is not in training session.
Furthermore, Beijing has been building a barrier-free environment at winter sports venues as well as Winter Olympic and Paralympic venues since 2019, according to city authorities.