China Snowboard Guide — Simon Jack Burgess

Winter sports are going through a major boom period in China. Host of the 2022 Winter Olympics, skiing and snowboarding is well within the national focus. China is developing new and redeveloping old ski resorts to improve the facilities on offer to over 1 million national skiers as well as international tourists. With companies like Club Med getting in on the act you can be sure to find a great experience.

Slopeside Chalet’s at Tiger Ridge Terrain Park

China has a rapidly growing ski industry with resorts opening on a regular basis. You will find a cluster of resorts close to the capital Beijing, making it possible to add on a trip to the Great Wall and the Forbidden Palace. However, be aware that the resorts near the capital rely heavily on snowmaking facilities. The North of China is generally blanketed in snow throughout the winter with some great conditions found in the North-East towards Harbin.

China wants to market itself as a top ski destination and is achieving this through investment in quality facilities. Club Med has opened a resort at Yabuli Ski Resort to bring a sense of luxury to your Chinese ski holiday. China is also importing expertise to help them deliver a great product with the majority of management at Tiger Ridge Terrain Park being international.

Tiger Ridge Terrain park is a great example of what China achieves with its ski resorts. Not blessed with the large European style mountains and extreme terrain the management of Chinese ski resorts are investing in terrain parks to keep people interested. Tiger Ridge would be little more than a small resort offering three blue and one red graded run but instead, it is a freestyle paradise with four park lines of differing abilities.

Don’t expect expansive terrain on your ski trip to China with the largest resorts having around 40km of slopes mostly suited to beginner or intermediate skiers. What you will find is off-slope activities like tobogganing, snowmobile tours and snowshoe excursions.

The popularity of skiing and snowboarding has been supplemented with the construction of indoor snowdomes allowing those in the city to get their snow fix. Harbin is home to the worlds largest indoor snow dome, although plans are in place for an even bigger facility to be opened in Shanghai.

There are well over 100 ski resorts in China which offers you plenty of choice. The most popular Chinese ski resorts include; Xiling Ski Resort, Yabuli Ski Resort, Wanlong Ski Resort, Beijing Nanshan Ski Resort, Beijing Huaibei Ski Resort and Alshan Ski Resort.

WHERE TO SKI OR SNOWBOARD IN CHINA

When it comes to where to ski and snowboard in China there is plenty of choice with over 100 ski resorts. Ski resorts in China are generally located in four locations; Beijing, Chengdu, Harbin or remote Northern areas.

BEIJING

Beijing will host the 2022 winter Olympics and has a number of facilities within a 1-4 hours drive of the city. Wanlong and Nanshan are the most popular resorts to visit close to the Chinese capital. Beijing Nanshan Ski Resort is the largest of the resorts closest to Beijing however if you want to ski in the shadow of the Great Wall of China consider Beijing Huaibei Ski Resort. Nanshan ski resort is perhaps best known for its terrain park which is one of the best in China.

CHONGLI

Chongli is around 250km North of the capital and will host the majority of the snowsports events at Beijing 2022. Chongli is home to seven linked resorts that offer some of the best facilities for snowboarding in China.

Thaiwoo ski resort has a purpose-built alpine village and is considered to be the most complete Chinese ski resort. With over 200 planned pistes and freestyle facilities that will host Olympic Slopestyle events, Thaiwoo is certainly one to watch.

Wanlong Ski Resort is one for the experts with very few beginner focussed ski runs. Another Beijing Winter Olympic Games venue, Wanlong is renowned for its snow quality.

Genting Ski Resort is another expanding ski resort near Beijing. There are 88 planned ski pistes that will cover 70km at Genting Ski Resort. Genting will be a good choice for advanced and intermediate skiers with very few dedicated beginner pistes. As with most Chinese ski resorts, Genting has a good terrain park set up with dedicated freestyle areas popular in China.

HARBIN

Harbin is world-famous for its Ice and Snow Festival, with an impressive display of sculptures in December and January. If the Ice and Snow Festival attracts you to Harbin then you may want to check out some of the ski resorts whilst you are in the area.

Wanda Ski Dome in Harbin is one of the worlds largest indoor ski resorts. The 80,000 square metres indoor ski centre offers multiple slopes, an indoor chairlift and plenty of off-slope activities. Opportunity to ski in China during the summertime? Yes, please.

Yabuli could be the Chinese ski destination for you if you like a little luxury. Home to Club Med, Yabuli resort at Heilongjang’s Sun Mountain, is a destination holiday offering ski in ski out ease. Sun Mountain has 35km of pistes for mixed abilities and 11 lifts. You will need to take a 2+ hour transfer from Harbin to reach Yabuli but your effort will be rewarded with a stay at an incredibly popular Chinese ski resort.

JILIN

Jilin Province is home to Beidahu ski area which has 11 pistes and 850m of vertical drop. The terrain at Beidahu is aimed at intermediate to advanced skiers, so is not recommended for learning to ski or snowboard.

Also in Jilin Province, you will find Changbaishan International Ski Centre and Tiger Ridge Terrain Park. Changbaishan International ski centre is one of the largest ski areas in China with 43 pistes for mixed abilities. Changbaishan is easy to reach as it has an International airport with connecting flights into major Chinese cities.

Also accessible from Changbaishan International airport is Tiger Ridge Terrain Park. Tiger Ridge Terrain Park is small but works with the terrain it has to offer some awesome freestyle terrain. Each of the runs at Tiger Ridge has its own line of freestyle features ranging from small ride-on boxes in the learner’s area to huge kickers. Tiger Ridge is a longer transfer from Changbaishan International Airport but is certainly worth the effort.

CHINA SNOWBOARD GALLERY

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN SNOWBOARDING IN CHINA

It is hard to categorise Chinese skiing as the country differs greatly depending on where you visit. Everything from the food, the climate and the accessibility will vary depending on where you choose to take your Chinese ski holiday.

In general, you can expect Chinese ski resorts to feel cold. Low temperatures and at times harsh winds can mean that with windchill you are going to wish you were huddled up by the fire. In Changbaishan, where the resorts are close to the border with North Korea, you can expect temperatures to be below -20 throughout the season. The climate in China lends itself perfectly to snowmaking which is important for topping up on the rare snowstorms.

You are not going to find large scale ski resorts that are similar in size to European or North American mountains. Chinese ski resorts, tend to offer small amounts of terrain with a low vertical drop.

SNOW CONDITIONS IN CHINA

China has a huge landmass and with ski resorts across the country, it is tough to be generic about the snow conditions at Chinese ski resorts. The colder temperatures and more frequent snowfall are in the North of the country. Alshan ski area is renowned for the quality of its powder snow. Realistically, unless you are very lucky, a visit to China is going to mean snowboarding on hardpack snow in cold conditions.

Most Chinese resorts rely heavily on snowmaking to supplement their natural snowfall throughout the season.

CHINESE SKI SEASON DATES

The ski season in China runs parallel to Europes season with the best conditions found between December and April. China can have bitterly cold temperatures during winter which are ideal for snow-making to supplement the natural snowfall.

APRÈS SKI CHINA

China is certainly more conservative on the Après ski front than we are used to in Europe. If you are expecting bars and dancing the night away you will probably be disappointed.

CHINA FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

DOES CHINA HAVE SKI RESORTS?

China has over 700 ski resorts but the reality is that many of these lack facilities to make it a ski holiday destination. There are a number of quality ski resorts with exceptional facilities though that would make for a great Chinese ski holiday.

HOW MANY SKIERS ARE IN CHINA?

Skiing and snowboarding in China is growing rapidly especially since the announcement that Beijing would host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Apprarently there were 13.2 million skiers in China during 2020 although the majority of these would be classed as beginners.

Get In Touch

As always thanks for reading this post and I’d love to hear from you! Would you head to China to ski or snowboard? Have you already been? Do you have any questions that remain unanswered after reading this post. Get in touch in the comment section and I’ll try to answer them.