Chongli an ideal place for skiing

Chongli is one of the largest ski zones in China and also the most ideal natural ski area in China, an official said.

The remarks were made by Song Aisheng, deputy director with Zhangjiakou Municipal Bureau of Commerce, at the 13th China Ski Industry Forum held on Friday in Chongli county in Zhangjiakou, Beijing's co-host city in Hebei province for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

As Song mentioned, a total of 107 snow events and activities were held in Chongli in 2017, with over 2.74 million tourists received.

"The mountains in Chongli have proper mountain slopes, heavy snowfall and a long snow storage period," he said.

The governing body for international skiing and snowboarding, Federation International de Ski, has described Chongli as the world's best place to ski.

"With convenient transportation after the opening-up of Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway in 2019, Zhangjiakou will be covered in the one-hour commuting circle of Beijing, which will promote more people to take part in ice and snow sports," he said.

After more than 20 years of construction, seven skiing resorts have been built in Chongli. And by 2022, the number of ski resorts in Chongli will be increased to 9, with the number of ski runs to be increased from 166 to 271.

Zhangjiakou plans to provide ice and snow industry training in 50 schools and sponsor 26,000 teenagers for field experience at ski resorts, Song said.

With China hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics, now is the perfect time to promote winter sports, encourage beginners to become long-term participants and nurture interest at the grassroots level.

Planned construction of support facilities in Zhangjiakou Olympic Sports Park includes skiing centers to undertake almost all the snow competition events of the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. This will help Zhangjiakou maintain the national craze for winter sports after the Olympic Games and encourage "one-time participants" to fall in love with ice and snow sports.

For better construction of skiing resorts in Chongli, Song suggested Zhangjiakou comprehensively learn the experience of powerful "ice and snow industry" countries for reference, such as Sweden, France and Austria.