A jubilant Ren Ziwei raises the flag aloft, after triumphing in the men's 1,000-meter short track speed skating final at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, earning the host country its second gold medal of the Games. [Photo/Ice City Plus]

Harbin, capital city of China's northernmost Heilongjiang province, was recently granted the commemorative title of "City of Olympic Champions" by the Chinese Olympic Committee.
 
It joined four cities to receive the honorific -- Baoding in North China's Hebei province, Anshan in Northeast China's Liaoning province, Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province and Qitaihe in Heilongjiang province.
 
The cities obtained the recognition for what the committee said was their outstanding contributions to the Chinese sports delegation at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games.
 
During this year’s Winter Olympics, Harbin athletes Ren Ziwei, Zhang Yuting, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong won a total of three gold medals for China.
 
The Chinese Olympic Committee also issued an outlook on the future development of Harbin's sports.
 
It urged Harbin to continue to carry forward the spirit of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and the proud tradition of Chinese sports, make persistent efforts to boost the strength of its competitive sports and stimulate the public's enthusiasm to participate in them.
 
As the cradle of China's winter sports, Harbin is said to have consistently helped popularize and promote them in recent years in the areas of competitive sports, national fitness and the sports industry as a whole.
 
It is also widely lauded for contributing a wealth of talent reserve resources -- and has trained many Winter Olympic champions including Shen Xue, Zhao Hongbo, Zhang Hui and Zhang Hong.