Laoshan Mountain Bike Course

Laoshan Mountain Bike Course, located in Shijingshan District of Western Beijing, is a venue holding cycling event in Beijing Olympics 2008. It lies adjacent to Laoshan Velodrome, another Olympic venue. The place has been developed as an Olympic venue while maintaining the original landscapes and plants. The course is uneven since mountain bikes use flat tires. The zigzag and sloping path will challenge the skills of the mountain cyclists and provide the audience with a brilliant international cycling show.

Seating Capacity
The venue holds temporary seating facility for 2,000 spectators. The seats would be removed once the games are over.

Statistics
The fixed building at the venue has the floor space of 8,275 square metres. The course is 4.6 kilometres in circumference. Groundbreaking date of the venue was May 31, 2006.

Renovation and Expansion
Renovation and expansion program in Laoshan Mountain Bike Course commenced in May 2006. The project involved a competition course, a fixed building, a temporary spectator stand and other temporary facilities for competitions. For the construction of the course, natural landscape of Laoshan Mountain has been used. Instead of using concrete and steel for consolidation, weaving bags with soil in them have been utilized. For enhancing enjoyment value, the course has been shortened and difficulties increased. Fixtures for the starting and finishing areas have been made.

Transport
Adjacent to the Fifth Ring Road in the west and neighboring Shijingshan Amusement Park, Laoshan Mountain Biking Course features easy access to the subway and road transportation.

Pre Olympics Event
As a part of Good Luck Beijing 2007, International Mountain Bike Invitational Competition was held on September 22, 2007.

Post Games
The course will be used as the training center for China's national cycling team. It will be open to the general public for exercise.

Reforestation
As part of renovation program, major reforestation work in the surroundings of Laoshan was undertaken. A lot of trees have been planted to enhance the natural view of the Olympic venue.