China’s budding skiers hit indoor slopes ahead of 2022 Winter Olympics
- Beijing began putting skiing on the map in 2016 after winning its bid to host the next winter games
- Government aims to add winter sports to the curriculums of 5,000 schools by 2025
Xia Zhiyi drove his family 40km (25 miles) to an indoor ski park in the east China city of Shaoxing so his 12-year-old daughter could practise skiing on a slope of artificial snow.
The 41-year-old said he was preparing his daughter to ski on mountains during a family trip he had booked for this winter.
“You have to book six months in advance to secure a good spot,” he said.
China hopes to turn 300 million people into skiers and snowboarders in the coming years as it seeks to generate interest in the sport before the 2022 games and eyes a sector expected to be worth 1 trillion yuan (US$149.2 billion) by 2025.
The government began putting skiing on China’s map in 2016, offering discounts on electricity and land usage to some ski parks, after it won a bid in 2015 to host the Winter Games.
In recent years, Beijing has helped deepen the cooperation between ski parks and schools as it aims to add winter sports to the curriculums of 5,000 schools by 2025.
That would help secure a steady customer base for ski parks such as Shaoxing Qiaobo Ice & Snow World, which has already seen a steady rise in revenues since China won its Olympics bid.
Zhang Li, analyst at International Data Consulting, said overall revenues at the more than 760 snow resorts in China were set to drop by more than 50 per cent this year but said at least 25 per cent of those should recover more quickly since they are indoor parks and can open all year around.
At Shaoxing Qiaobo, manager Zhang said he was counting on “addicted” children to become loyal customers, adding the park had signed partnership deals with two neighbouring schools.
A seven-year-old boy slowly navigated the snow at the indoor park holding the hands of his coach. His father Li Hao said the boy grew to like snow sports after being introduced to hockey and skating at his school.
“We came because our child is quite fond of snow sports, he can go to an outdoor ski resort when he’s older.”
