Local skiers taste alpine fun

Lounging on a sunny terrace munching a margherita pizza hot from the oven sounds like Italy. But there are no lift queues here and the slopes are nearly deserted.

Duolemeidi Ski Resort isn't Cervinia beneath the mighty Matterhorn or Courmayeur on the southern slopes of Mont Blanc. It's wilder in the empty valley in the Damaqun Shan where the North China Plain meets the Mongolian Plateau, 226 km north of Beijing. Here, there is a hint of alpine air.

It's the first Chinese ski station entirely funded by foreigners - specifically two Italian winter-sports giants. Leitner Technologies builds ski lifts at the world's top notch resorts. The Dolomiti Superski Group is a ski resort designer and developer.