Beijing was selected Friday to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, becoming the first city to be awarded both the winter and summer games.

The International Olympic Committee voted for Beijing over Almaty, Kazakhstan, in a narrow 44-40 vote at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Friday.

Beijing was seen as the safe, reliable choice despite it's lack of natural snow. It hosted the 2008 Olympics successfully, and plans to use several of its known venues from those games, such as the "Bird's Nest" and the "water Cube."

"I am so excited. This is China's pride," Zhang Hong, China's women's 1,000m speed skating gold medal winner at the Sochi Games, told CCTV.

 

 

(h/t the Associated Press, CNN)