Day 9 of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

On the ninth day of the Winter Olympics, Beijing is waking up to a dusting of snow.

A blanket of white now covers roofs, sidewalks, carparks and pedestrian bridges across the city, the first in the world to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Games.

It's the first time Beijing has snowed since the Games began. The city has relied completely on artificial snow to cover its slopes and venues — which environmentalists and critics say is a huge drain on energy and water resources.

The Chinese capital is one of the driest regions in China, with typically very little snow in the winter.

The city itself is only hosting the indoor ice events (apart from the freeski big air, located in an industrial park in the west of the city). The snow events are mostly taking place in the suburb of Yanqing and the neighboring city of Zhangjiakou, where temperatures are about 10 degrees Celsius lower, and which have seen natural snowfall last week.

To coat the ski slopes, about 300 snow cannons have to blast out artificial snow on those brown mountains. But at least today, they can have a break.

The corridors of the Secret Garden Genting Grand in Zhangjiakui seem like any other hotel in a ski resort — but of course, the resort hosting the Beijing 2022 mountain sports is not just any other hotel.

Being within the "closed loop" that separates Olympic athletes and participants from the Chinese public means there are a few quirks to contend with. 

You’re joined in the corridors by dozens of hazmat-suited staff, one of whom is spraying a "disinfectant solution" that smells a lot like bleach from a hose attached to his Ghostbuster-style backpack. They pass through with their sprays at least three times a day, covering mainly the carpet in their mist.  

Relentless disinfectant seems to be a theme across the Games, with white spray marks adorning everything from the airport information booths on arrival, the PVC screen separating us from our closed loop drivers, to stains on black shoes from a freshly sprayed carpet. 

Breaking the language barrier for lunch: In the mountain resort of Zhangjiakou, the hotels have restaurants ranging from Chinese food and Western-style diners to chain brands like KFC and Pizza Hut.

But one thing they all have in common is the language barrier between the primarily English-speaking clientele and our Mandarin-speaking hosts. In an (almost) Google-less China, there might be an app for that, but some of these restaurants are opting to use other hardware.

The tech that at first glance resembles a cellphone from the early 2000s is in fact the iFLYTEK Jarvisen – an AI smart translator developed in China. Our experience with the tech has been a pleasant one, certainly making mealtimes less stressful. 

We're on Day 9 of the Winter Olympics, with another full schedule ahead of us – including the return of China's hottest star, and the drug test controversy surrounding the Russian Olympic Committee. Here's what to watch today:

Germany and Norway have performed well all throughout the Games – and are now tied for the number of gold medals, with both at eight so far.

The United States, which had a slow start to the Games, now is tied for third with the Netherlands and Austria, all with five gold medals under their belt.

Host nation China ranks seventh, with four gold medals.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has announced that a hearing regarding Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva's positive drug test will be held on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. Beijing time (7:30 a.m. Eastern time).

This comes after CAS received a third application, filed by the International Skating Union (ISU), regarding the case of the 15-year-old Valieva, who tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine in December.

The International Testing Agency (ITA) – on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the ISU – said on Friday they would be appealing the Russian Anti-Doping Agency’s (RUSADA) decision to lift a provisional suspension on Valieva.

According to CAS, a decision on what sanctions Valieva could face will be made on Monday afternoon.

Some context: Valieva helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) win gold in the figure skating team event last week, a day before reports of the positive test emerged.

She is due to compete in the short program of the women's singles event on Tuesday.

US snowboarding great Shaun White called time on his Olympic career earlier in the Games as he finished fourth in the men’s halfpipe following a fall on the final run.

White, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and a man widely credited with revolutionizing the sport of snowboarding, has been speaking to CNN’s Coy Wire about the emotions of his retirement.

“It’s been this crazy ride, and I’ve loved every bit of it,” he said. “Sad to hang up the competitive side of my life, but I’m so excited for the rest of it.”

Watch the interview here:

Day 8 of competition has wrapped at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and gold medals were awarded for six events today. Germany and Norway are tied at the top of the medal table with eight golds each, with the United States closely behind on five. These are the lucky winners of Saturday's competition.

Biathlon: Norway's Johannes Thingnes Bø took home the gold in the men's 10-kilometer sprint, with his brother, Tarjei, winning bronze.

Cross-Country Skiing: The Russian Olympic Committee won the women's 4x5-kilometer team relay in dramatic fashion.

Skeleton: Hannah Neise won the women's skeleton a year after winning the junior world championships to continue Germany's dominance in sliding sports.

Ski Jumping: Norway's Marius Lindvik edged out Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi – who was going for the ski jumping double – in the men's individual large hill.

Snowboard: Despite being the oldest pair in the competition, Americans Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner won the mixed team snowboard cross, making Baumgartner the oldest ever Olympic snowboarding medalist.

Short Track Speed Skating: Gao Tingyu gave the home fans something to cheer for as he won gold in the men's 500-meter in an Olympic record time.