China hopes to encourage 300 million people to try winter sports by 2022 CREDIT: ATAH
At the 2018 Games held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February, China finished 16th overall – with one gold medal won in the short track speed skating, six silver and two bronze medals. With significant investment being put into its resorts and training facilities it will hope to improve its performance before 2022 and come out top in front of a home crowd.
The Warren Smith Ski Academy became the first British ski school to open in China in 2016, following increased interest in its courses from Chinese skiers. “It’s almost as if winning the 2022 Winter Olympics bid has put skiers in China into panic mode – they really want to get better at skiing, and fast,” said Warren Smith.
Last winter coaches from The Academy held the first training camp for Chinese ski instructors wanting to teach in Europe. “Over the last few years, we’ve seen a lot of development in Chinese skiing,” said Smith.
“I think the key here is to recognise how strong the Chinese industry is growing, and how much motivation there is behind the Chinese ski industry.”
The new slope will be a base for Chinese athletes to train for the Winter Olympics CREDIT: ATAH
The China Daily reported that there are now 700 ski resorts, many of which are man-made, in the country. The top five natural resorts include Xiling in the South West and Alshan in the North East. Yabuli ski resort is the largest and is located close to the country’s border with North Korea. Beijing Nanshan and Beijing Juaibei are both within 70km of the capital.
The new Yunmen artificial slope, which is a six-hour drive from Beijing, is set to provide training facilities for the Chinese snowboarding team during the summer months and will also be open to members of the public.