Ski China

If you are looking for double black diamond, deep powder, Rockies/Alps type skiing, China is not (yet) for you.
 
Most Chinese ski areas are small hills located close to major metropolitan areas. With a 1.3 billion population, China today is said to already have several million (virtually all beginner) skiers. Weekend traffic at these small areas can be horrific. The more popular have hundreds of ski instructors, thousands of rental outfits (including clothing) and sell lift tickets by the hour! China is beginning to love skiing!

Scary stuff…, however, there are a small but growing number of operators who recognize that this mass of beginner skiers will eventually produce a sizable population of real skiers looking for real skiing on real mountains.
 
These companies are building destination ski resorts with names like Beidahu, Wanlong, Yabuli and Ping Tian.
 
International ski companies such as Melco (the large Hong Kong gaming operator in Macau (Aomen)) are also taking notice and beginning to make investments. They are encouraged by both the potential size of the Chinese local ski market and the apparent willingness of the Chinese government to make sizable investments in supporting infrastructure.

These larger resorts are generally located 4-5 hours from Beijing by car or using a combination of fly and drive. The terrain is New England-like while the semi-arid climate is more like the US west.
 
Natural snow is not always available, making a reliance on snow making machines, but the consistent climate and cold temperatures during the winter months make for a predictable season that goes from late November until late March.
 
Elevations in the higher latitudes (around 45°) are in the 3000' range and in the lower latitudes (around 40°) get up into the 6000' range. Verticals are in the 1500-2500' range providing long (2km+), wide trails that can be heaven for the beginning to intermediate skier. Even expert skiers can enjoy these runs to hone their style skills and condition those muscles needed for black diamond skiing. Terrain parks, mogul fields (albeit man made) and a variety of other on snow diversions are being added to these larger areas to round out the skiing and boarding experience.

Despite their distance, these areas are busy on weekends and during the two week Spring Festival period following Chinese New Year. However, for the foreign visitor who is able to avoid these times, skiing at one of these resorts is like having your own personal ski mountain.
 
If you are going to hire gear , due to the high volume of skiers you cannot always assume that the gear is up to the standard of most western resorts, so be careful.

Where a resort offers a choice of Premium or Regular equipment, always take the Premium and be sure to check the settings.

English speaking staff at these resorts are generally available for help with the basics but, like most of China, travelling with Chinese speakers can make things much easier and get you access and insights that you would likely miss otherwise.

Skiing in China can be expensive so please check prices etc before you go so there are no surprises when you get there.

I hope this has been helpful and if you are a skier, please give China a try, at the right times you can have a lot of fun.

The above article was kindly given to me by Tom Tillotson owner of www.Chinaskitours.com