Chinese skiers cool off at world’s largest indoor ski park as government encourages participation

It was a hot summer afternoon in Harbin and tourists strolled cobblestone streets with the Chinese city’s famous milk popsicles in hand. But indoors, it was perfect weather for skiing.

At the city’s new Ice and Snow Park, chilly winds blew snowflakes around skiers zipping down the man-made slopes of the world’s largest indoor ski park, a potent symbol of China’s ambitions to turn itself into a winter sports powerhouse ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Kept at a chilly -5 degrees Celsius by fans and an underground cooling system, the sprawling 80,000-square-metre facility boasts six runs, the longest stretching 500 metres.

“Skiing here is just like skiing in a big refrigerator,” 10-year-old Kane Li grinned beneath his neon goggles, who has his hopes pinned on competing at the games.

A student at a private ski academy in the capital, Kane and his fellow young Olympic aspirants used to spend their summers training in New Zealand, but the opening of Dalian Wanda Group’s indoor ski park this summer means they can now stay closer to home.

“China’s skiing is still not so great (compared to other countries),” Kane said, adding: “We must train hard every day. Train more.”