China's Olympic ski jumping venue "outstanding building project," says architect

GENEVA, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Architect Hans-Martin Renn, who helped design China's National Ski Jumping Center for the ongoing Winter Olympics, hailed the facility as an "outstanding building project," the Neue Zurcher Zeitung daily newspaper has reported.

"I've never worked on anything like this before," Renn was quoted by the German-language daily on Feb. 11 as saying, who entered the field of planning ski jumping venues more than 15 years ago.

Located in the Zhangjiakou competition zone, the National Ski Jumping Center, as one of the Beijing 2022 outdoor venues, was nicknamed "Snow Ruyi," as it has an "S-type" curve that resembles the shape of "Ruyi," a traditional Chinese ornament symbolizing good luck.

Renn, chairman of the sub-committee for ski jumping hills at the International Ski Federation, said he supported the subsequent use of the facility which could help turn the region into a tourist destination.

"The jumps would then be more of a monument with a viewing platform," Renn said.