Fortune favors farmers finding solace on slopes

In a sweltering hot room in a Beijing suburb, Lang Enge and his peers diligently practice their skiing on a fast-moving machine.

The men, though, are not Olympic hopefuls but rather small local farmers, who supplement their income with part-time work on construction sites or in secondhand car markets.

Lang, a 29-year-old former shepherd, is the leader of the group, which goes by the name of the Haituo ski team and consists of 25 villagers from Yanqing District, 74 kilometers northwest of Beijing.