Resort Sports 

A five-minute ride from Taizicheng Station will get visitors to “Thaiwoo Ski Resort.” On the sparkling snow under the clear sky, many skiers glide freely down the slopes.

Mr. Xie, who lives in Beijing, is a big fan of snow sports. He’s skied in Chongli every winter for the past 10 years. Over the first few years, he focused on improving his skiing skills. Now, the veteran 40-year-old skier enjoys more quality time with family in the resort.

On September 5, 2018, the General Administration of Sport of China announced the Implementation Outline for “Getting 300 Million People Involved in Winter Sports” (2018-2022) to promote and popularize ice and snow sports. Driven by the Olympic Games and supporting policies, Chongli has now become a paradise for snow sports. Thaiwoo, Forlong, and Genting are just a few of the many large snow sports resorts attracting guests from across the country. Many major snow sports venues have evolved into full-fledged resorts, offering robust entertainment facilities.

“If you come here on Friday, you can go skiing in the afternoon after checking in to the hotel,” said Ren Xiaoqiang, marketing manager of Thaiwoo. “At night, guests can enjoy bars, hot springs, KTVs, and cinemas. You can experience other slopes during daytime on Saturday and Sunday morning and head back home on Sunday afternoon.” When the snow melts, the resort continues to offer more than 30 outdoor activities such as mountain biking and go karts.

Sporting Skills 

First-time skiers inevitably endure many falls.

“It really hurts,” said Wu Qianqian, a coach at Thaiwoo, recalling her first fall. She still managed to fall in love with skiing. “I just like the feeling of freedom.”

Now 24, Wu graduated from the Ice and Snow Sports Department of Hebei Institute of Physical Education in 2020. She was among the first graduates of the major. In 2015, Beijing succeeded in the bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The following year, Hebei Institute of Physical Education opened an Ice and Snow Sports Department and enrolled more than 300 students. The curriculum falls into three categories: leisure sports, social sports, and sports training. “Some of my classmates are working as coaches or on management in the snow sports resorts, some are coaches of officially organized sports teams, and some are teachers.”

Being a coach requires not only sports skills, but also knowledge of sports psychology, sports physiology, anatomy, and rehabilitation. “Knowledge and skills in these areas can be applied into work.”

Wu has witnessed the influence of the coming Beijing Winter Olympics on ice and snow sports. Through cooperation between the college and enterprises, she has already started working in the ski resort during school. “More and more beginners are coming here,” she said. “In the past, it was only people with very good financial conditions, but now people from ordinary families also try.” Thaiwoo employs as many as 500 coaches during the peak season for ice and snow sports.

For Sports, For Work 

Wu Qianqian continued skiing after a fall, but Wang Lihong gave it up after an even harder tumble. However, it didn’t prevent him from working hard on the slopes. Before getting into snow making, Wang worked in a state-owned wood processing factory. The factory went bankrupt and closed in 2000, and he had to seek another occupation. In 2005, he found snow making.

If not enough snow falls in Chongli or the quality doesn’t meet the top standards, artificial snow is deployed. Positioning a snow machine requires skills because many factors such as gradient, temperature, humidity, and wind direction need to be considered. “Even on the same slope, the temperature can differ a lot from the top to the bottom, which has an impact on making snow,” Wang noted. “Good snow making requires years of experience.”

Before the resort opens in winter each year, Wang endures an extremely busy month preparing each slope. After that, he is mainly responsible for daily maintenance of slopes. For more than 10 years, Wang has always carried a small notebook to write down his experiences and precautions to be taken. “I couldn’t keep track of all the problems I was encountering, so I note down everything.”

Nowadays, flights from major cities such as Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Xi’an go directly to Zhangjiakou. More and more tourists from all over the country, especially southern China, are coming to ski.

“With supportive national policies in place, the ice and snow economy is booming here,” said Ren. “More and more people are getting involved in skiing. In terms of experience, participation, hobbies, or even working in this industry, this is progress.”