Skiing gains speed in China

Skiing gains speed in China

China's growing middle class are boosting demand for skiing, with the China Ski Association reporting there are now at least 200 ski facilities in the country - up from just 3 in 1980.

Sun Liang works at a telecom firm in Beijing. Today, she's taking on the slopes of Nanshan, just outside the city.

"Today I'm here with my husband and kids. My daughter is getting really good at skiing. I've been learning for several years now. We really enjoy coming here," Sun Liang said.

China's ski industry has grown rapidly - from around 10,000 skiers in 1996, to 5 million in 2010. And it's set to double by 2015. But for a country of 1.3 billion people, the market is still small.

Skiing and snowboarding are often used as a barometer of a society's wealth - and you can find plenty of young, well-booted Chinese here today. A day on the slopes here costs at least 200 yuan, about 30 U.S. dollars… That's roughly a third, or even half, a month's wages in the countryside. So this is still a luxury few Chinese can afford.

With incomes in China climbing though, this is slowly changing. (GFX) According to research firm, CIConsulting, China's ski industry will be worth 3.7 billion yuan or about 630 million dollars by 2015.

Foreign players like Club Med, along with domestic resorts, are seizing the opportunity.

"We had around 20,000 visitors in the 2012-2013 ski season. This year's season hasn't ended yet, but we've already passed that number. Things really picked up in the last two years. I think the Sochi winter Olympics is also encouraging more Chinese to ski," said Hu Wei, vice-chairman of Nanshan Ski Resort.

But with skiing still fairly new in China, safety remains a concern.

"The biggest challenge we face is there are so many adult skiers coming here who don't know how to ski. It's not like in the west, where there's already a skiing culture. We had to hire more instructors, because parents don't know how to teach their children," Hu Wei said.

Xiao Bai is one of them - trained in the northeastern resort of Yabuli, which hosted the 1996 Winter Asian Games.

"We've had more Chinese coming here in recent years, along with more foreigners. My students are aged anywhere from 3 years old to 60. Most adults are white collar workers. Their experience varies, but some are really good and we can teach them more sophisticated stunts," said Xiao Bai, instructor of Nanshan Ski Resort.

As China's middle class look for new ways to unwind, its slopes also cater to local tastes with most offering hotpot, over ski parties.

But for some developers, the investment could take years to pay off.