Dutch and South Korean skaters split four golds at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on Friday's opening day of the Speed Skating China Open, a test event for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

It is the first test event featuring international competitors and will cover all facilities at the three Games zones in Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, ahead of the global sports extravaganza that begins in February 2022.

Sophie Kraaijeveld of the Netherlands won the women's 3,000 meters in 4:25.32, followed by Yang Binyu of China 0.29 seconds behind. South Korea's Park Chae-won came third in 4:26.46.

"It's a beautiful stadium and I'm honored to skate here. I had a very comfortable skating experience today," Kraaijeveld said through an interpreter.

Chinese skater Yang, mass start champion at the 2020 Youth Olympics, referred to the Oval as "beautiful and well-equipped."

In men's 5,000 meters, Chung Yang-hun of South Korea took gold in 6:48.09. China's Ma Xingguang bagged a silver in 6:49.98, while Gert Wierda of the Netherlands claimed the bronze 0.72 seconds further behind.

Kim Jun-ho of South Korea and Youth Olympic champion Isabel Grevelt of the Netherlands triumphed in the men's and women's 500 meters races, respectively.

The three-day China Open, which features 12 categories, is the start of 15 series of testing activities that will last until the end of the year, including events like skating, sleigh and ski jumping.

(With input from Xinhua)