Swallows are common birds that carry auspicious meaning in China. Architects made a flying “snow swallow” in the mountains. It is the National Alpine Skiing Center in the Yanqing competition zone, known as “xuefeiyan”. “The trails are placed on the southern slopes of Xiaohaituo Mountain, just like the wings of a swallow,” said architect Liang Xu.
The blueprint for the design came from Liang and his coworkers of the China Architecture Design and Research Group. The trails total 21 kilometers, including seven main ski runs that are about 9.4 km long in total. The largest vertical drop is about 900 meters.
The highlight of the center is that its trails fit in with the local environment. “We aim to affect the environment – mountains and plants – as little as possible,” said Liang. “It goes with a traditional Chinese idea – harmony between man and nature .”
The alpine skiing trails are dangerous. Their average slope is 17 degrees, with some over 34 degrees. When picking slopes to build trails, architects prefer those that don’t need too much building work. “We aim for a balance between the soil we removed and that which we filled in,” Liang said. “In other words, you dig up some soil here, but you can use it to fill other places.”
Architects also borrowed some ideas from traditional Chinese architecture. In the mountainous southern part of China, stilted buildings are popular. “It’s a very smart design. The houses are built above poles so that they don’t affect mountain bodies,” Liang said. So they built some stilted platforms and houses that are made up of removable steel components . “After the events, they can be easily removed. The mountain can stay as it was before the event,” said Liang.
Liang started to take part in the design in 2017. “I feel proud to work for the center for five years and look forward to skiers showing their tricks on our trails,” he said.
Ancient look adds style to rooftops
Architects borrowed some elements from traditional Chinese architecture to show some characteristics of the host country. While building the cableway station and a view platform on top of the mountain, they used traditional shingles to cover the roofs. “Along with the cable, the cableway station looks like a flying kite, which is popular across China,” said architect Liang Xu.
Shingles were also used on the roofs of the National Sliding Center and the Yanqing Winter Olympic Village at the foot of Xiaohaituo Mountain. “They echo the shingles on the mountaintop, letting people have a taste of traditional Chinese architecture,” said Liang.
