Skiing brings winter sporting fun to vast desert in Inner Mongolia

HOHHOT, China, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Skiing on a snowy slope and looking far away at the vast desert, Li Dongwei yelled excitedly: "It made my day!"

More than 100 sports fans skied enthusiastically on Tuesday at the one-year-old Xiangshawan Ski Resort in the Kubuqi Desert of Ordos City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous region.

Li is one of the skiers who is here enjoying the desertscape ski resort for the first time. "It's unbelievable that the place where I enjoyed sand sliding has changed into skiing slopes," he said.

The Xiangshawan, literally translated as "Whistling Dune Bay," is part of China's seventh-largest desert Kubuqi that covers 18,000 square kilometers.

The ski resort opened to the public on December 11, 2016.

"We have improved our facilities over the year and have two slopes for beginners, one for intermediates and an area for people playing in the snow," said Wang Na, deputy manager of the resort.

"Visitors can have fun skiing, driving snowmobiles and riding camels," she added.

Over 30 pupils from Fuxi School at Ordos City learned to ski at the resort on Tuesday.

"Most students were able to master the basic techniques within one hour," said Fan Zhicheng, physical education teacher at the school.

"Skiing in the endless desert is unforgettable," said Pan Zehan, 10, a student at the school.

"We can not only enjoy the ice, snow and desert landscape but there are also plenty of amusing events for snow lovers," Pan added. Enditem