Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times reported that more than 95 per cent of those selected by Beijing 2022 were aged between 18 and 35, and that the majority are from colleges and universities in the capital Beijing and the Hebei Province.

Training covers topics such as studying the COVID-19 prevention protocols in place at the Games, emergency care and volunteer etiquette, and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Recruitment for the volunteer programme began in December 2019.

According to China Daily, candidates were required to undertake more than 20 training sessions online, pass exams on a range of topics including their English language proficiency and their knowledge of the Games and winter sports before completing an interview with teams managing the venues being used at Beijing 2022.

Li Wanghua, a student at Hebei Normal University and volunteer at the Games, told the newspaper some of the activities that volunteers at the Zhangjiakou cluster - hosting several of the skiing and snowboarding events - were required to undertake.

"As the competitions in Zhangjiakou are all snow events held outdoors, we also have to pass physical assessments such as 15 kilometres cross-country walking," she said.

"Meanwhile, cold-resistance training helps prepare us for working long hours in the chilly weather."

Volunteers at Beijing 2022 will be required to enter the "closed-loop management system", where they will only be able to move between Games venues on dedicated transport and will be tested daily for COVID-19.

Robots were recently deployed at an ice hockey game at Wukesong Arena and it is planned that they will be used at Beijing 2022, with it claimed that one can perform the work of three to four volunteers.

China has pursued one of the world's strictest approaches to the pandemic with its so-called "zero-COVID" policy, imposing tough lockdowns on cities where infections have been discovered and largely closing its borders to international travel.

However, international athletes arrived in the country last month to take part in test events for Beijing 2022 for the first time.

Volunteers have been working at these test events, as Beijing Sport University student Xia Tingyu told China Daily.

"The test event provided volunteers with a valuable opportunity to familiarise themselves with the state-of-the-art venue and be better coordinated," Xia claimed.

"Detailed preparations can significantly improve the efficiency of our work and provide better services."

Preparations for the Games have been marred by questions over the host country.

The International Olympic Committee admitted yesterday it was aware of concerns raised by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China over a lack of press freedom in the country, and vowed to "address them with the Beijing 2022 Organising Committee".

China's record on human rights has also been scrutinised in the build-up to Beijing 2022, particularly its treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang and its actions in Hong Kong and Tibet.

In Xinjiang, China has been accused of using forced Uyghur labour, operating a mass surveillance programme, detaining thousands in internment camps, carrying out forced sterilisations and intentionally destroying Uyghur heritage.

Beijing claims the camps are training centres designed to stamp out Islamist extremism and separatism, and denies the charges laid against it.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are scheduled for February 4 to 20, and the Winter Paralympics from March 4 to 13.

The city is set to become the first to host both the summer and winter editions of the Games.