Olympic rehearsal in Inner Mongolia

The National Winter Games of China will form an important part of Beijing's buildup to the 2022 Olympics.

On Thursday, the preparatory event, which will take place in Inner Mongolia autonomous region in February 2020, upped its profile by unveiling its official logo and mascots.

The logo, called "Winter Rhyme", features an adaptation of the Chinese character dong (winter). It combines an element of the Mongolian character for winter, and is intended to suggest the movements of skaters and skiers, as well as the flowing curves of grasslands and snow courses in Inner Mongolia.

Below the blue pattern, the words "Inner Mongolia 2020" are printed in the five colors of the Olympic rings.

The mascots are cartoon drawings of a pair of Inner Mongolian children－"Anda" and "Sainu"－wearing the traditional dress of the region.

The combination of their names translates as a greeting to the world－"Sainu", means "hello" in Mongolian, while "Anda" means "friends".

"The government of Inner Mongolia has been attaching great importance to the preparation of the 2020 National Winter Games of China, and all of the works are progressing steadily," said Gao Zhidan, deputy director of the General Administration of Sport of China.

"After two years of preparation, a solid foundation has been built for the Games."

Gao added that China is paying major attention to the 2020 Games, treating them as something of a test event for Beijing 2022.

The schedule of events and all venues will be subject to the same standards as the Winter Olympics.

"The National Winter Games will be a window for us to look ahead," said Gao.

"This is not only an opportunity for our athletes to practice, but also a chance to show the world our ability of holding major winter sports events."

To encourage young people to take up winter sports, the National Games will include many new junior events.

"Another purpose of having the national event is to nurture more domestic winter sports talents, especially in terms of those events that China has a shortage of competitive athletes," said Gao.

"We will have a series of incentive plans to encourage more people to participate in winter sports."

Ahead of the Olympics, China is rolling out an ambitious plan to get 300 million people participating in winter sports by 2025.