Zhou Zhen News Today

Local herders bear the brunt of salt sandstorms and waning pastures on the lower reaches of the Wulagai River in Inner Mongolia

* Chinas economy will continue to improve in the long run and the private economy, a major force in Chinas modernization drive, will also enjoy long-term positive momentum.

Beijing city has introduced its strictest Covid controls since the early stages of the pandemic as it seeks to stop the explosion of Omicron cases in other parts of China reaching the capital.

With freeskier Gu Ailing winning gold medal at the womens halfpipe on Friday, Team China has amassed a record of eight gold medals at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, three more than the previous record of five at Sochi 2014; while for world winter sports, a bigger success is 1.4 billion people watching the Games, many for the first time, as their growing interest in the events, athletes and mascots could change the global landscape of winter sports.

With the countdown ticking down to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics coinciding with Chinas biggest festival, the worlds second-largest economy is immersed in hearty anticipation for a robust Year of the Tiger, buoyed by its top leaders winter sports enthusiasm and a national push to build a sporting powerhouse.