By transforming old steel mills into facilities for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Beijing is demonstrating a sustainable approach to hosting the event, according to the International Olympic Committee.

The exemplary transformation shows the host country's efforts in making progress toward the vision of the Beijing 2022 Games, Alexander Zhukov, chairman of the IOC coordinating committee, said at a news conference in June after an inspection tour.

With its abandoned furnaces and smokestacks, the former production site of major steelmaker Shougang Group in Beijing evokes memories of the capital's industrial past.