Ski Conditions, Openings, Closings and New Developments in Chinese Skiing
Yabuli
New Yabuli Inn
Updated 9/14/2010
Sun Mountain Yabuli/ClubMed has posted winter package rates for 2010/2011 season on the ClubMed reservations webs site.
Yabuli continues its substantial transformation over the past couple of years into China's first multiple ski resort town. The latest news is that the Sun Mountain Resort, part of Mountain China Resorts, will be operated next winter by Club Med. That should be a very interesting combination and we will look forward to reporting how it performs. It will be Club Med's first property in China even though they have been lookng for several years.
Melco China Resorts changes their name to Mountain China Resorts and undergoes reorganization to concentrate on general Yabuli development with a focus on vacation homes. MCR releases Q2 results.
Note: Our report on Yabuli now covers 4 pages. Be sure to follow the links on the Yabuli landing page to the other resort specific pages.
Wanlong
Wanlong Morning
Updated 8/23/2010.
Wanlong is preparing for next season. They have opened their newest mountain with two chairlifts and 6 more top to bottom trails. This expands the total to 18+ trails, the most in China at one ski area.
With new 4 and 5 star hotels in ChongLi, trips to Wanlong will have even more choices and conveniences next winter. Our ChongLi area trip schedules and pricing for next season will be posted on our Local Tours page.
The recent massive traffic jams on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway point out the advantage of using the train for this part of the trip. Even without the current problem, this road can be jammed returning to Beijing anytime. When the new high speed line opens, this will be even more the best transportation to the region.
Duolemeidi is preparing for next season. The ski area opened in 2009 on November 14th with almost all trails thanks to a surprise early heavy snow. We hope Duolemeidi will add more trails from their new surface type lift serving the second expansion mountain. (See our updated report on Duolemeidi)
Watch ths site and check their new English web site for information about further expansion plans for next season. As part of the growing ChongLi centered ski industry, Duolemeidi will increasingly factor in the ski plans of the Beijing based skier.
Beidahu
Beidahu Slopes from Gondola
Updated 1/21/2010
Beidahu is no longer part of Melco China Resorts family.
In 2008 Beidahu became part of Melco China Resorts. However, in July 2009 the original owners took back the resort in lieu of payment of the note due 12/31/2008. Rumors still come in regarding the future of this potentially excellent ski resort. However, for now the future is still unclear. For the 2009-2010 winter, limited operations at Beidahu were open to the public and part of the mountain was dedicated to the China National Team for training. At last report, one trail from the top was open on each of the two mountains as well as the lower trail between making terrain for all levels of skier available, if somewhat limited in variety.
Ping Tian
Tian Shan Valley Scene
Updated 8/23/1010
It appears that the much publicized Ping Tian resort in Xinjiang will still not be open for the 2010-2011 winter season. Although the management still pushes forward with their plans to develop a world class alpine ski and golf resort in the high Tian Shan mountains, the combination of the global financial situation and permitting delays have kept the project on a slower than expected path.
New Zhongdian (Shangri-La) Ski Resort
Shangri-La Ski Resort
Updated 8/23/2010
We are still seeking information about what is going on here and would appreciate any info that our readers may have uncovered. We had hoped to get down there this past winter, but that did not work out so we are still in the information hunting stage. With 5 flights a day into DiQing/Shangri-La airport, we are still looking for ski alternatives for the southern China based skier/boarder.
Last year we reported that it appeared as though the new ski resort in Yunan Province outside Zhongdian (Shangri-La). is a basic beginners mountain even though the surrounding mountains could support more advanced terrain development. However, photos taken summer of 2008 by our travel partner at HiddenChina.net shows that additional lifts and trails have been added that would make the resort a bit more interesting to the serious skier. Unfortunately, additional informaton about the resort's facilities has been hard to come by so this is still all we know at this time.
New trail 2008
Shennongjia - Ski resort in Hubei Province
We have had requests for information about the ski area in Shennongjia national forest in Hubei province so we recently visited to see what they had. While the mountains of Shennongjia certainly have the size and location for a major ski resort to be built, this is not one. The ski area has two surface lifts that serve a large open bowl of beginner's terrain. Two intermediate trails come into it from the top of the hill but they are not very long. The area gets about 0.5 meter of snow in an average year and thus relies on man made snow for a skiing base.
However, if you are thinking of traveling from Shanghai for a ski vacation, you had better consider other alternatives if you want to do any serious skiing or snowboarding. Also, if you are not a Chinese national, forget this resort as it is located in a restricted area closed to foreigners without special permission.
