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Inside Beijing's Closed Loop at the Winter Olympics

BEIJING — Less than six months after the Summer Games in Tokyo, it’s time for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Below, Sports Illustrated's team of writers on the ground in China share their experiences after traveling from the U.S. and spending a few days in the host city.

Three years ago, I made the ambitious—and no doubt foolhardy—decision to pitch a series of stories about basketball in China, figuring that the more I crammed into it, the better chance I had of getting approval to go. The result was a whirlwind: Five cities over less than 10 days, beginning and ending here in this capital city, all by my lonesome save for the fixer who helped me interpret an interview with the docent at the Stephon Marbury museum.