At nightfall, the National Speed Skating Oval, also known as the "Ice Ribbon", comes to life with 22 color-changing strip-shaped lights, creating a stunning winter scene in Beijing. On the evening of November 24, envoys from 101 diplomatic corps and representatives of various international organizations in China gathered there for the 2023 Reception in Honor of Foreign Diplomatic Missions to China held by Beijing Municipality.

Beijing attached great importance to this long-awaited gathering, as it marked the resumption of the event in over three years since the start of COVID-19. The elaborate arrangements made by the organizers could be seen in many ways, from the choice of venue to the diverse on-site activities such as test-driving driverless vehicles, interacting with robots, watching figure skating performances, and experiencing the "fastest ice" in person.

At 4:30 p.m., an hour and a half before the event, many envoys and representatives of international organizations had already arrived. The road outside the venue was lined with cars equipped with the latest driverless system. They got into the cars, tapped "Start the Trip" on the screen, and the cars automatically navigated to the entrance of the venue along the designated route. Ambassador of Tunisia to China Adel Elarbi, who had just got out of one driverless car, said excitedly, "This is my first time riding in a driverless car, and this futuristic experience is amazing, allowing me to feel the rapid progress of Chinese science and technology. During my stay in Beijing for more than four months, everywhere I go gives me a sense of the fast development in China".

At the venue, the first thing that caught the eye was the coffee robot, a big draw at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. With its two nimble arms moving up and down, a cup of hot coffee was served. Intrigued by this fun and novel product, the envoys and representatives lined up for a cup of "customized" coffee. "It is very interesting, and the coffee is quite tasty," said Ulf Hausbrandt, Minister of the Austrian Embassy in China, while sipping his coffee, "This is my first visit to the 'Ice Ribbon', which is large in scale with modern facilities, befitting a venue of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Beijing, as a modern, green, and clean metropolis, has impressed me a lot".

The rink in the "Ice Ribbon" was dubbed the "fastest ice" at last year's Beijing Winter Olympics, where athletes from around the world broke Olympic and world records 13 times during the intense speed skating competitions. After the dazzling figure skating performance, the envoys and representatives also came to the rink to try out the ice surface, which is the same as the one used at the Winter Olympics.

The reception concluded with the song "The Snowflake", performed by the Beijing Angelic Choir. It went like this: "Swirling snowflakes, fall down and down. Like you and me, together we are bound". The touching melody not only reminded participants of the breathtaking moments of the Beijing Winter Olympics, but also expressed the hope to deepen friendship, strengthen mutual trust, and achieve win-win development with friends worldwide.

At the reception, old and new friends from around the world mingled to renew friendship. As Elia George Kaiyamo, Ambassador of Namibia to China, put it, "We have so much to share about Beijing that it could take all night."

Further reading

1. National Speed Skating Oval

The National Speed Skating Oval, also known as the "Ice Ribbon", is the only newly-built competition venue for ice sports of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Inspired by the idea of combining ice and speed, it is surrounded by 22 crystal-clear ribbon-like curved glass facades, shaped like the tracks left by speed skaters, symbolizing speed and passion. Joining the Bird's Nest and the Ice Cube, the Ice Ribbon has become another integral part of the iconic complex of the "Dual Olympic City".

2. Segway-Ninebot

Segway-Ninebot is an innovation-oriented company specializing in intelligent short-range mobility and service robots, with major products including self-balancing scooters, scooters, robots, electric scooters, and go-carts. Its service robots, which greeted guests at the registration desk and roamed around delivering food at the Reception, was very well received.

3. Pony.ai

Founded in 2016, Pony.ai was the first startup in Beijing to obtain a road test permit for autonomous vehicles in 2018 and a driverless robotaxi permit in 2020. Today, the company has set up over 200 stops in the test area of the Yizhuang Development Zone, making it possible to realize point-to-point operation for all the stops. At the Reception, Pony.ai provided the driverless vehicles for test rides (model: Lexus RX450), which covered a distance of about 1.5 kilometers.