There are hundreds of things to do in China in different seasons. In winter, you want to test your skiing skills in the best China ski field. Actually, you will be spoiled for choice because there are so many ski resorts for you to choose.
As with anything else in China, you will get a lot of variety when it comes to choosing a ski resort. There are so many of them, some close to the cities and some in far-flung places. Whether you are a city guy who likes to go off the beaten path every now and then, or you are a woodsman kind of person, there is a ski field for you in China.
Expats from the US, Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Australia and other places living and working in China like to meet new people from theirs or other countries. The ski slopes make a good place to “break the ice” and enlarge their circle of friends. Such people have been putting many a China Ski resort on the world map as they leave their honest reviews online.
With hundreds of ski fields of all sizes, it can be a bit hard to choose the best one. However, in this article, we shall look at ten of the most popular ski resorts in China. Keep reading.
1. Harbin Yabuli International Ski Resort
This is the biggest ski resort in China and it has a lot to offer beginners or longtime skiing enthusiasts. If you are experienced and you love a good challenge, this is the right place for you to go. It is located in Northeast China in Heilongjiang Province. This place is open from the middle of November to the end of March.
With 17 slopes with different kinds of features, Yabuli International Ski Resort attracts people from all nationalities. There are 3 mountains with vertical drops of 200 to 700 meters. At the same time, this resort has a long alpine slope; actually, it is the longest one of its kind in Asia.
To get to this Ski Resort, take a train in Harbin East. It will take you to Yabuli South Railway Station. This trip should take you about 3 hours. You will then board a tourist bus that will take you to the resort.
The price may change with the times, going up during the peak hours and going down in the off-peak season. For example, you can expect to pay about CNY 180 for 2 hours, or perhaps even more than that. Of course, the more the number of hours you want to ski, the more affordable it becomes.
2. Jilin Beidahu Skiing Resort
This ski resort is great for families that love snow sports. It has a steep, challenging slope and an intermediary one for beginners and families. While the Yabuli International Ski resort is known for having the longest slope, the Beidahu Skiing Resort is known for having the biggest vertical drop of 800 meters. It is 900 meters actually, but the top 100 meters are closed because there is not enough snow at the top.
There are two mountains here, and a valley between them. This is the most beautiful setting for a ski resort. There is a multi-chair lift for taking adventurers to the top of the trail on the left mountain. Those who do not care for the steep trails are dropped on this mountain.
The right hand mountain has steeper trails that are recommended for advanced skiers. They will take a gondola ride to the top. The good thing with these trails is that they are not too crowded. While the trails are short distance, they are well kept and enjoyable to ski on.
At the bottom of the mountains, there are the lodging facilities, including the Olympic Games Village with its 200 rooms. There is a new addition of a 5-star resort where you can stay with your family.
3. Zhangjiakou Wanlong Ski Resort
Wanlong Ski Resort is located in Zhangjiakou City in Hebei Province. It has the reputation of being on China’s largest ski mountain. The ski season runs from November to the end of April. This resort is also close to the city of Beijing since it is a 4-hour drive away. Therefore, you should expect a good number of people there. The resort administrators say they have at times hosted people running into 3000 in the peak skiing seasons. Because of the high elevation of more than 6000 feet of this resort, it remains open way longer after others have closed.
For accommodation, you can stay at the Shuanglong Hotel, a 3-star facility that has 100 rooms. There is also the newer Yuelong hotel. Professional trainers are available for beginners but most of the trails on this China ski resort are for intermediates and advanced users. With 22 trails, there is a skiing adventure waiting for everyone here. The biggest drop is 550 meters. There is a magic carpet for beginners and grooming machines that keep the trails well supplied with white snow.
Zhangjiakou is also slated to co-host the 2022 Winter Olympics and as a result, this city has to make five competition avenues. This also means that the city will become more popular in the future and it will attract skiers in their thousands.
4. Beijing Nanshan Ski Resort
You will find Beijing Nanshan Ski Resort in Henanzhai Town, Miyun in Beijing. The skiing season at the resort is between December and February. This resort has facilities for beginner and intermediate skiers. It also has 180 skiing instructors to help children and beginners cut their teeth in skiing for the first time. There are 25 trails of beginner to expert difficulty levels and the snowboarding theme park will be a great hit with your kids.
If you are an advanced skier and you are looking for a China ski field with slopes and drops, this might not be the place for you. However, if you have a family and you would like the children to have fun in artificial snow, bring them here. Because of their attractive family features, this ski resort always has many people on the weekends. However, the rates are reasonable. If you have been looking for an opportunity to train your children to ski, this is the time and the place to take them.
5. Beijing Jundushan Ski Resort
You can go to this ski resort for leisure or for business skiing as it is suited to both. The ideal location of the Jundushan Ski Resort makes it quite appealing to adventurers. After all, it is located on one of the top golden tourist routes in China. Some of the main tourist attractions in the area include the Ming Tombs, Badaling Great Wall and Juyongguan Great Wall.
This ski resort has 5 main trails. The longest one is the expert trail that measures 1200 meters. Then there are two beginner trails measuring 380 meters each. Finally, there are two intermediate trails measuring 380 meters and 530 meters. In addition, there are less challenging trails for training beginners. Collectively, there are more than 4000 meters of snow trails here.
Trails are not all that there is to this resort. There are many more spots for different types of snow sports. Visitors can enjoy fabulous adventures such as sleds, snowmobiles, snowboarding and others. The good thing is that there are well-supplied gear rental shops in the resort.
Other notable facilities available at this popular China ski field include 1 magic carpet, 2 spacious cable cars, special lines for equipment cars and more than 3000 sets of skiing gear and equipment. Collectively, this resort can handle 6000 skiing at the same time. During the high season, it might be a little crowded considering its close proximity to Beijing.
6. Chengdu Xiling Snow Mountain Ski Field
This mountain looks like a postcard picture of some place in Scandinavia. The rugged beauty of the mountain, which is also home to giant pandas, has nice skiing trails. The Chengdu Xiling Snow Mountain Ski Field is located in Dayi County near Chengdu City. Because of the high altitude of this mountain peak at 5345 meters above sea level, the snow at the peak stays intact throughout the year. However, the winter sports area is between 2000 and 2400 meters above sea level. The peak season for skiing is December to March.
Irrespective of the level of skill that you have for skiing, you will find a trail good enough for you on Xiling Mountain. This China ski field offers 7 excellent, international-standard skiing pistes. Overall, they measure 10km and they come in beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Every piste is fully serviced with ropeways. They have their own snowmaking machine to churn out fresh snow whenever it is needed.
In addition to skiing, you may also engage in other snow sports. These include snowmobiling and sledding. Any equipment or gear that you may require is available in the rental shops. Anytime, there are more than 2000 ski sets and more than 40 snowmobiles ready for renting.
For accommodation, you will find lodgings and hotels in the area. There are nice western as well as Chinese bars and restaurants so you can sample the nightlife.
7. Wanda Changbaishan International Ski Resort
The most outstanding thing about Wanda Changbaishan International Ski Resort is that it was designed for families. This is a small hill no doubt, but the skiing facilities here are up to international standard. The area around this resort is relatively flat, but scattered randomly here and there, you will find volcanic peaks and at 2200 is the Changbaishan peak after which the Wanda Resort is named. However, Wanda Resort itself is located on a nearby mountain at 1400 meters on a double peak.
There are 18 main trails on this resort but these are formed by a network of 40 smaller trails. Take note though of the short distance of the trails, caused by the small size of the hill upon which this China ski resort sits.
There are advanced trails as well as intermediate and beginner trails. The ski field has 5 magic carpet areas that are perfect for newbies and even kids. The more advanced and steeper trails are kept ungroomed to make them a real challenge to the advanced skiers.
At the base of the two hills are shops, bars, restaurants, both Chinese as well as western ones. There are hotels such as Sheraton, Hyatt, Holiday Inn Suites and others.
8. Shennongjia International Ski Resort
Located in the Shennongjia National Forest in Hubei Province, this ski resort has the honor of being the biggest mountain ski resort that is fully operational. Sitting on an area that measures 10,000 square meters, there are enough trails for beginners, intermediates as well as advanced users. They use both natural and artificial snow combined so there is snow for five months of the year. You can go for skiing from mid November to March.
This China ski resort receives about 3000 visitors in the peak season. Combined with its sister the Tianyan Ski Resort, both of them get 6000 visitors at a given time. Most of the visitors come for the activity that this place has to offer. In addition to skiing, you can also try sledding, snowboarding and snowmobiling to name but just a few.
The elevation gain is only 85 meters. However, the trails add up to more than 4KM so you can have a lot of fun skiing for hours if you like. There are seven ski lifts to serve the visitors.
You will find a host other activities to do here. For example, the resort markets skiing in combination with adventures such as trips to the Natural Museum of Anthropology as well as watching wild golden monkeys.
9. Urumqi Silk Road Ski Resort
If you are ever in Xinjiang Province between November and April, you must go for skiing in the Urumqi Silk Road Ski Resort, which is just 38km away from Urumqi City. Even if you visit during summer, you will still find this resort a great place to call home away from home.
This is a big skiing resort since it sits in an area of 10 square kilometers. It can deploy 10000 skiers at the same time. It has beginner, intermediate and advanced skiing ways in its 8 slide ways. A cable car with 4 seats provides snow viewers with a great opportunity to see the snow from a height of 1000 meters. The cable line also stretches over 1100 meters. The cable cars have 5000 carrying capacity and therefore you will not stay in the queue for too long. The seats are also comfortable.
You can bring your kids along so they can learn how to ski. There are two teaching areas, one for adults and the second one for adult learners. Expert tutors teach beginners how to ski while the snowmaking machines work to churn out fresh snow to keep you moving.
10. Zhangjiakou Fulong Ski Resort
The Fulong Ski Resort in Zhangjiakou has great skiing facilities for both beginners and advanced skiers. Whether you want to ski during the daytime or at night, there is an opportunity for you here. The best time to go try your hand at snow sports in this snow park is mid November to March. You may bring your children. If they are under 18 months old, they will not have to pay for tickets.
There are skiing areas for beginners and kids along with professional staff to teach them. Then there are skiing areas for intermediate and advanced skiers. The cable car lifts people to their respective skiing areas. It is comfortable and it can carry many people at a go to reduce the size of the queues. The snowmaking machines keep the snow fresh all the time.
Most reviews say that there are not that many people going to this resort. Therefore, if you are looking for a snow park that is not crowded, you can try this one. It is located about 300 meters to the east of Wanlong Road. You can rent your skiing gear in the shops located in the ski resort.
While here, you might also like to try some other sightseeing spots such as the Snow Entertaining Paradise, DJ Square and Snow Beach Area. The top of the mountain also has a coffee shop where you can nurse a piping hot mug as you enjoy scenic views down below.
Wrapping Up
China has become one of the winter sports powerhouses in the world and this has led to the development of some of the best ski resorts in the world. Here, you have seen ten of the best of them. With this information, you can now be able to choose the best China ski resort for your family. Irrespective of your level of experience, you can find a good ski resort with expert teachers. If you are on vacation for a few days, you will be happy that every ski resort has hotels, restaurants, bars and shops right there on the ground. If your children are below two years and you would like them to have fun on the snow, it is better to carry their snow gear rather than rent for them.