Beijing 2022 executive vice-president Zhang Jiandong has said that preparations for the upcoming Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games are gradually shifting focus from venue construction to the management and operation of competition centres ©Getty Images

Beijing 2022 executive vice-president Zhang Jiandong has claimed preparations for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games are gradually shifting focus from venue construction to the management and operation of competition centres.

Zhang, also the Vice-Mayor of Beijing, was speaking to China Daily before the closing of the second session of the 13th National People's Congress.

He claimed management of the competition venues will be strengthened by the hosting of a series of "world-class" test events.

Beijing 2022 announced in September 2018 that the first official Olympic test event will be held at the National Alpine Ski Centre in Yanqing District in February 2020.

According to Zhang it will be the first of a series of 20 scheduled, running through to the first half of 2021.

Seven of those will be held in Zhangjiakou.

"The competition venues in Yanqing will meet the requirements for holding test events in October, while other venues will reach the stage next year," Zhang told China Daily.

Competition venues in Yanqing will meet the requirements for holding test events in October, it has been claimed ©Beijing 2022
Competition venues in Yanqing will meet the requirements for holding test events in October, it has been claimed ©Beijing 2022

Zhang sees 2019 as being an important year in the preparations for Beijing 2022 with numerous notable activities due to take place.

He revealed that the mascots for both the Olympics and Paralympics are due to be unveiled in the next half of the year and that volunteer recruitment will be launched at the end of 2019.

Beijing 2022 received a boost earlier this week with the news that construction on the electrical facilities for a crucial high-speed railway network linking Beijing and the Chongli District of Zhangjiakou has begun.

As reported by ecns.cn, the China Railway Corporation revealed that the first 1,300-metre overhead wire for the railway is now being set-up and smart devices will be enabled throughout the power supply system to ensure operational safety.

It has also stated that the railway will have the world's first automatically driven trains running at speeds of up to 350 kilometres per hour.

The laying of the track for the network, which organisers claim will reduce travel times between the Olympic and Paralympic venue hubs from more than three hours to just 50 minutes, is estimated to be completed by the end of May.

The adjusting of the track will then take place and is expected to last until July, with testing set to be held towards the end of the year.