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Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Revitalization through community empowerment

A B

Figure 3. Logos of Laoshan: (A) The logo of Laoshan Jiedao; (B) The logo of Laoshan Forever Young Revitalization Action Plan. Source: Author.

resources are intermingled in Laoshan, and the people The General Administration of Sports of China had
of Laoshan use these cultures and resources to create a attempted to transform these venues into thematic cycling
Laoshan community with infinite possibilities. These logos industrial parks with the help of post-Olympic afterglow,
are applied to various work of the Jiedao, especially the but this did not happen due to various reasons.
promotion of community empowerment work, helping to Compared to the obvious official leadership of the Dual
build up the brand of Laoshan. When the Jiedao introduces Olympic Games culture and sportsmanship, the residents’
the Laoshan Forever Young Revitalization Action Plan practice of sportsmanship is unconsciously revealed. The
to local resources and invites them to join, the plan is to Laoshan community is home to a number of “hidden”
package it as an IP. The cultural arrangement of Laoshan sports celebrities, including a world triathlon champion
makes people to have a clearer perception of the resources who teaches children to swim, a retired motocross athlete
they were used to.
who coaches, a well-known blogger on mountain biking
Regarding the construction of local culture, the Dual forums, and so on. As the area has more hills and sports
Olympic Games had a great impact as a mega event that resources, residents are used to this environment and the
took place in the region. After the 2008 Summer Olympics, demand for public fitness is higher than elsewhere, and
several venues on the west side of the Laoshan community something gradually happens, such as some gymnasiums
will continue to be used for summer training, in-competition and a youth steeplechase course being opened around the
services, and post-competition recuperation for athletes west venues, and trails built in the Laoshan are paved with
during the preparation and hosting of the 2022 Winter a synthetic surface as fitness trails. A principal planner
Olympics, and will be partially opened to the public for believes that the future use of sports resources in Laoshan
sports activities during the non-Olympic period, creating is toward marketization and fitness for all. It is the choice of
an “official” Laoshan sports culture. For the Jiedao, sports resources by the residents here that has shaped the
packaging the project as a project related to the theme of unique sports culture of Laoshan.
the Dual Olympic Games would ease the application for In addition to the comprehensive culture and
special construction funds. For example, Laoshan Jiedao sports culture of Laoshan, the collective memory and
tries to package a street on the west side of the Laoshan culture associated with Shougang is also a key point.
community that connects the sports venues and the main The community’s full set of service facilities used to be
road (Chang’an Street) as the “Street of the Dual Olympic an important feature and advantage of the Shougang
Games,” showing the theme of the Dual Olympic Games residential compound, although the community facilities
through some sculptures and posters, creating an Olympic are basically in a state of non-operation due to the
atmosphere and sports spirit in the area, and taking the disappearance of the benefits brought by the enterprise
opportunity to renovate the street itself. after Shougang’s relocation. In a survey on the demand
However, the Dual Olympic Games as a big event has for community facilities for the residents, the residents,
the effect of amplifying the influence of local resources, who are mostly retired Shougang workers, gave somewhat
but at the same time, it is too ambitious and often makes it unexpected feedback: they most wanted to add a bathhouse
difficult to make good use of the resources in a sustainable to the community. Because they often need to wash their
way. The venues on the west side of Laoshan are mainly bodies after working in the steel mill before going home,
cycling and bicycle racing venues, both of which are niche the bathhouse is an indispensable place given their working
sports with high maintenance costs, and the general body is pattern, and it is also a scene of their social interaction.
not able to hold such assets and operate them continuously. The residents’ demand for a bathhouse not only reflects the

Volume 5 Issue 1 (2023) 7 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.0351