HONG KONG — Dong Jianguo, 25, a vegetable farmer from the hills outside of Beijing, cannot afford to ski, snowboard, play hockey or luge.
But for months, he has known what he would do if Beijing prevailed in its bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics: Open an inn on the mountainside and cash in on tourism.
“The Games will make the local people rich, at least some of us,” Dong said by phone Friday as he sold watermelons by the roadside in Chongli County. “I’m just happy.”
Cheers broke out across China on Friday as the International Olympic Committee announced that Beijing would become the first city to host both the Winter and Summer Games.