JILIN'S SKI RESORTS OPEN FOR SNOW SEASON

Province in Northeast China boasts some of country's best competition facilities, lodges

After the first snow of the season fell on Oct 13, followed by several heavy snowfalls in the mountainous areas of Northeast China's Jilin province, its ski lodges and resorts have opened their doors once more to skiers, snowboarders and winter sports lovers from around the world.

Jilin province has long been a formidable force for winter sports in China, rich in great locations and facilities.

The province gets some of the country's best powdery snow, the type favored by skiers and snowboarders, at its leading resorts and courses for competitive skiing.

The annual skiing season lasts for some 150 days in Jilin province, according to the government.

"China has only four skiing areas that are more than 100 hectares each, and three of them are in Jilin province," said Yang Andi, director of the Jilin Department of Culture and Tourism.

According to Yang, they are Lake Songhua Resort, Beidahu Ski Resort and Changbai Mountain Wanda International Resort.

The snow season carnival at Lake Songhua Resort, boasting one of the largest ski courses in China, opened on Nov 16. Songhua has ranked China's top ski resort for the past two years since 2017 in terms of sheer visits, according to official statistics. In 2018, the resort welcomed more than 560,000 skiers.

This year, Lake Songhua Resort joined hands with ski course operators in nine cities and provinces to introduce a joint membership card that allows cardholders to enjoy discounted ski activities at the 15 member ski courses.

A young skiers training program has been launched this year to teach students in 100 primary and high schools how to ski. Twenty school skiing teams will be formed in Jilin province with Lake Songhua Resort agreeing to provide free lessons to the young skiers.

Night skiing at the resort will begin on Dec 7. Every Wednesday night, children in Jilin city, capital of Jilin province, under 12 years old, are welcome to experience skiing, free of charge.

This year, Lake Songhua Resort has also partnered with the New Zealand's Cardrona Alpine Resort to build four new and more varied ski courses.

Beidahu Ski Resort, home to one of the largest professional ski courses in Asia, opened its winter season on Nov 16. Similar to Lake Songhua Resort, Beidahu, which stands at an altitude of 870 meters above sea level, will also promote skiing activities among kids during the 2019-20 snow season. It has partnered with auto brand Audi to develop an enclosed ski park for children this season. A trail with an altitude of 690 meters for teenagers will also open this year.

Beidahu resort is launching programs for students in primary schools, high schools and universities to experience skiing this year. The operators of the resort said they hope more students will experience and enjoy skiing after taking part in the programs.

Beidahu Ski Resort has been approved and supported by the General Administration of Sport and Chinese Ski Association to organize a series of large-scale sports events this year, such as the International Open in Alpine Ski Orienteering and the China Youth Skiing Grand Prix.

Commentators said the events will help to demonstrate the resort's growing ability to host top level winter sports events and boost its reputation on the global stage in terms of winter sports and tourism.

Changbai Mountain Wanda International Resort opened to skiers this year on Nov 15. The ski resort has a support team for skiers of nearly 450 staff members. It has two courses covering 6,900 square meters and 4,300 sq m that can be used by 3,000 to 4,000 skiers at the same time. A terrain park with different landscapes has been upgraded for professional skiers.

This year, an ice and snow-themed park, covering nearly 800 sq m, was developed for kids to build snowmen and play on snow slides and sledges.

"Jilin not only has good snow but also leading ski resorts," Yang said. "Those leading companies have formed a nationwide ski alliance to set ski course operation standards, and Jilin's standards could be China's standards."

So far, Jilin province has developed a Jilin city and Changchun city-centered ice and snow sports and leisure industrial cluster, and a Changbai Mountain region-centered resort industrial cluster.

During the 2018-19 ski season, which ran from Nov 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019, Jilin province recorded 84.32 million visits to its tourist attractions, and reported some 169.81 billion yuan ($24.13 billion) tourism revenue.

During the 2019-20 snow season, Jilin province will promote international and domestic communication and cooperation, according to local officials. It has set a goal of developing its winter tourism in the region similar to that of the Alps in Europe and the Rocky Mountains in the United States.

Contact the writer at hanjunhong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/29/2019 page6)