ZHANGJIAKOU, China: China's snow sports industry is pinning its hopes on people like Shi Haoping, 32, who takes to the slopes to de-stress from his job as head of an online education company.
"First we learned skiing," Shi said."Then last year we took up snowboarding, because it looks more trendy and cool." China wants to build a thriving winter sports ecosystem, from success on the slopes - some of its best Olympic medal hopes are in the freestyle ski and snowboard events - to world-class resorts and the manufacture of equipment to service them.Only about 20 would be considered destination resorts, including Thaiwoo and the nearby Genting Resort Secret Garden, which will host the Olympic freestyle skiing and snowboarding competitions.
Even so, he added, it takes years to build a ski culture and the infrastructure around Chinese ski areas, many in farming and mining areas, has yet to be developed. On a five-year average, China ranks eighth globally in skier visits, according to the 2021 International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism by industry expert Laurent Vanat, with the United States, Austria and France making up the top three.