Winter sports snowballing in China

Chongli, a small county about 200 kilometers northwest of Beijing, has become the skiing mecca in the mind of the fast-growing Chinese enthusiasts since Beijing won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The county, nestled in mountains near the Great Wall which will stage most of the skiing events of the Olympics, witnessed 1.67 million ski visitors last season, and the figure is expected to reach two million this season.

Clad in neon-green from head to toe, the 32-year-old Wu Jingjing, one of the new ski enthusiasts from the Chinese capital, brought her seven-year-old daughter to Chongli for holidays, spending more than five hours per day in a ski resort.

"Ski helps build my daughter's physique as well as her mentality," Wu said.

Family skiing features a new trend in China with more young people swarming to ski resorts.

The number of family skiing rose by 30 percent last season in the Genting Resort Secret Garden, one of the 2022 Games ski venues in Chongli, said Zhao Qiong, the marketing director of the resort.

Lai Gang, a Beijinger with 15-year ski experience, took his little son to learn skiing in Chongli this year.

"My son loves speed sports, and he can ski independently only after five-day learning," Lai said.

In China, safety concern used to prevent children from skiing. But it is not a problem for Lai.

"I think it is all right if I can avoid others to collide on him. And the lower center of gravity prevents him from being hurt seriously while he just falls over himself," Lai said.

Winter Games is expected to attract 300 million Chinese people to winter sports, and the young is definitely the main force.

"Every student will have at least one chance to ski during the snow season," said Li Yueming, head of Chongli education bureau, which has established cooperative relationships with the county's ski resorts to provide free chances for students.

Yang Shuo, a Grade Six student with Chongli Xi Wanzi primary school, skied for the first time a few days ago. "I feel so excited after two hours' skiing, and I want to be a volunteer in 2022," Yang said.

Meanwhile, China's ski resorts are taking a series of measures to attract children.

"Children under 1.4 meters can buy entrance tickets and rent ski equipment at half price this year. Previously, the preferential standard is 1.2 meters," said Zhao Qiong.

According to official statistics, Chongli, which has four ski resorts in operation and several others in construction, received over 248,000 visitors in November this year, a 30 percent increase over the same period last year.

A series of mass events are underway to arouse winter sports enthusiasm nationwide.

Four million Beijing citizens are expected to attach themselves to ice and snow season through 128 events until next April. In Hebei Province, the figure will be two million.

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

"The huge gap between the fast-growing number of fans and the shortage of experienced tutors urges China to set up the ski training system, which may be introduced from abroad in the near future," said Wang Chunlu, the secretary general of the Chinese Ski Association. Endi