HAVING made history as the first city to win hosting rights for both the Summer and Winter Olympics, Beijing now faces a slew of challenges, from ensuring adequate snow in a bone-dry region to ramping up support for winter sports in a nation where few people ski or skate.

    Celebrations of Friday’s win were muted in Beijing — a stark contrast to the dancing-in-the-streets euphoria the city witnessed in 2001, when it won the 2008 Summer Games. The Winter Olympics are a much smaller and less popular event, but China has a special challenge in that few of its citizens know or care about winter sports, despite a recent increase of interest in skiing, skating and ice hockey, among the rising middle class.

    Elsewhere, fireworks were lit in the mountain town of Chongli, future host of Nordic skiing and other events, which anticipates an economic boom from the games.

    ‘’We’re going to see big changes here. Our guests yesterday were really happy about winning the bid and many are interested in investing and buying houses in Chongli,’’ said a desk manager at a local hotel, the No. 66 Holiday Inn, who gave only her surname, Liu.

    Beijing says holding the Games will unlock a potential winter sports market of 300 million people in the country’s north, although only a fraction would have the means to travel to increasingly pricey Chongli to ski. As a start, the government last month announced a US$30 million program to promote winter sports such as luge, bobsledding and Nordic combined skiing.

    In Chongli, venue construction will require the relocation of around 1,800 residents of outlying villages, with the government offering a selection of compensation measures.

    However, the overriding concern of the IOC and sports federations has been the area’s ability to produce enough artificial snow to augment the meager natural snowfall. That’s all the more acute because of water stresses in the region that already diverts significant resources from agriculture to quench the thirst of Beijing’s 21 million residents.

    In a 2014 report, the United Nations said water resources per person in northern China amount to only 200 cubic meters per year, “only one-fifth of what is conceived as a safe standard.’’ The IOC itself, in its evaluation report, said it felt Beijing had underestimated both the amount of water needed and its ability to recover runoff from the slopes.

    Despite that, Beijing’s bid was based on assurances it can generate enough snow without causing disruptions to the lives of ordinary citizens. Whatever the case, strong government backing should eliminate any obstacles.

    Back in Beijing, organizers say holding the Games will add momentum to plans to clean up the capital’s notorious air pollution by removing highly polluting vehicles from the streets, closing aged factories and reducing the amount of coal burnt by 75 percent.

    That’s a potent challenge, given the city’s continuing expansion, although the government has become increasingly responsive to the threats pollution poses to health, development and quality of life.(SD-Agencies)