China Exclusive: Winter sports heat up after heavy snowfall hits China

While heavy snowfall has dropped temperatures and disrupted traffic in northern China over the weekend, ski resorts are enjoying a rush of tourists to enjoy the first ski season after China won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Zhangjiakou City in north China's Hebei Province was covered in a layer of snow, causing authorities to issue alerts for a cold front and icy roads on Sunday.

But it failed to stop fans of winter sports from visiting local ski resorts during the first winter since Zhangjiakou, along with neighboring Beijing, won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics several months ago.

Chongli County, which will host the cross-country, freestyle and other skiing events, has opened four ski resorts to the public since the start of November, more than ten days earlier than previous year.

During the snowy weekends, the ski resorts have attracted a total of 17,000 people to enjoy the fun of winter sports.

"Many parts of north China have been hit by several rare snowfalls this November. Although it brought inconvenience to people, it was good news for ski resorts," said meteorological expert Liu Jianjun.

Yu Donglin, general manager of Wanlong Ski Resort, told Xinhua that it received 300 to 500 daily visitors and 1,500 to 1,700 visitors on weekdays and weekends respectively since this November when the ski season started. "The number has doubled compared with same period last year," he said.

In Beijing, organizers of the snow and ice events at the iconic Bird's Nest stadium were also excited.

"The snowfalls have satisfied a craving for winter sports fans," said Shi Lei, who works in the stadium.

The stadium will hold a Carnival-like winter event, which organizers expect will attract around 100,000 people who enjoy winter sports such as skiing, skating and snowmobiling.

Yanqing County in Beijing has seen snow since Thursday. Shijinglong Ski Resort is prepared to open before December by building new tracks and purchasing additional 1,000 ski suits, snowboards and boots as it braces for an increased number of visitors this winter.

With roughly seven years to go before the 2022 Winter Olympics open, the "Olympic Effect" has begun to emerge as more Chinese cities and counties seek to develop winter sports tourism.

Heilongjiang and Jilin province in the northeast are both launching winter tourism programs, opening more ski resorts and holding winter sports competitions.

Statistics showed that in the first three quarters of this year,Heilongjiang received more than 88 million domestic tourists, up 22.3 percent year-on-year.

Hou Wei, deputy head of the provincial tourism department, believes the 2022 Winter Olympics fever will further promote its tourism industry.

Winter sports and sightseeing in Jilin Province attracted more than two million people during Spring Festival holiday last year, according to local data. The figure is expected to rise this year.

"Winter Olympics fever will directly boost China's winter sports and ice-snow tourism. The era of public participation in sports on ice and snow is coming," said Duan Guangda, tourism expert with Heilongjiang University. Endi