 | |
| Host city | Harbin, Heilongjiang, China |
|---|---|
| Nations | 15 |
| Athletes | 453 |
| Events | 43 in 8 sports |
| Opening | 4 February 1996 |
| Closing | 11 February 1996 |
| Opened by | Jiang Zemin President of China |
| Main venue | Baqu Arena |
| Summer | |
| Winter | |
The 3rd Asian Winter Games (Chinese: 第三届亚洲冬季运动会; pinyin: Dì sān jiè yàzhōu dōngjì yùndònghuì), also known as Harbin 1996 (Chinese: 哈尔滨1996), were held from February 4 to 11, 1996 in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China.[1] North Korea's Samjiyon was the original host for the games scheduled in 1995, but withdrew in August 1992. After the withdrawal, South Korea and then China submitted bids respectively. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) decided to elect the host cities for these 3rd games and the next 4th games simultaneously. On December 2, 1993, The OCA announced that the 3rd games would be held in China in 1996 and the 4th games would be held in South Korea in 1999.
- ^ World of Chinese Stamps and Philatelic Items Archived 2006-12-13 at the Wayback Machine