When athletes take to the slopes outside Beijing next week for the 2022 Winter Olympics , theyll do so atop 100% man-made snow for the first time in the history of the games.

Nature hasnt graced the region with anything greater than trace amounts of the white stuff, nor was it expected to: Across the months of November, December and January, Beijing averages just 11 millimeters about four-tenths of an inch of precipitation.

Instead, snow guns and lances supplied by TechnoAlpin, an Italian snowmaking supplier, are running around the clock to coat venues in man-made powder.

A TechnoAlpin sales manager told Sports Illustrated that the company has 170 fan-powered guns and 30 fanless snow lances at Yanqing, the alpine skiing venue; 40 guns and 15 lances at the Zhangjiakou nordic center; 62 guns and 30 lances at the freestyle park; and seven lances running in downtown Beijing for the big air event.