After 50 years, ski base hits peak performance

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By Li Yingxue (China Daily) 08:45, February 20, 2025

Tourists take the cable cars at Yabuli Ski Resort to reach the ski slopes in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on Jan 15. (Xie Jianfei/Xinhua)

After training three times at the Yabuli Sports Training Base, Alpine skier Fayik Abdi from Saudi Arabia was impressed by the venue's diverse terrain.

"The terrain is great — it offers a bit of everything. The snow is very aggressive, different from Europe, so it takes some time to adjust to," said Abdi at the base in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province.

The 27-year-old spent a week in Yabuli for the 9th Asian Winter Games. Though he did not finish his race in his Games debut, Abdi — Saudi Arabia's first-ever Alpine skier — had the opportunity to experience the winding, tree-lined ski trails for which Yabuli is famed.

Earlier this month, the snow events of the Asian Winter Games were held in Yabuli, with 32 gold medals awarded. Xu Mengtao, a Beijing Winter Olympics gold medalist and the Chinese delegation's flag bearer at the closing ceremony, also praised the venue. She earned two golds and one silver in the competition.

"This venue is exceptional, and the weather was perfect for the competition. I'm thrilled to have waited 18 years to win my first Asian Winter Games gold here," Xu said.

Over the past three decades, Yabuli Ski Resort — around 200 kilometers from downtown Harbin in the Lesser Khingan Mountains — has become a pivotal site for China's winter sports development. Thrust into the spotlight when it hosted the 1996 Asian Winter Games, Yabuli further cemented its reputation with the 2009 Winter Universiade.

With the return of the Asian Winter Games to Yabuli after 29 years, the spotlight on this once-remote destination has shone brighter than ever. Growing from its early days as the birthplace of China's snow sports to its current status as a premier national tourism destination, Yabuli now attracts millions of winter sports enthusiasts every year.

Athletes ride ski lifts to access the mountaintop at the ski resort on Jan 19, 1996. (Zhou Que/Xinhua)

Dizzying new heights

With its snow season stretching up to 170 days and 150 of them ideal for skiing, Yabuli has long been a key winter destination for athletes and tourists. To ensure the smooth running of the Asian Winter Games, a massive 1.2 million cubic meters of artificial snow was generated for the event, covering eight competition venues and four training slopes.

When the region hosted the snow events of the 3rd Asian Winter Games in 1996, snow was scarce. Thousands of volunteers carried snow up the mountain to prepare the racing courses. On some days, as many as 2,000 people participated in this labor-intensive effort. This year, 70 snowmakers using 101 snow machines spent two months preparing the venue for competition.

Chen Changpeng, director of the Yabuli Sports Training Base, said the area was a hunting ground during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The first ski resort was established in 1974 by the provincial sports committee to facilitate training for competition. The decision to build the resort in Yabuli was driven by the region's heavy snowfall, high altitude, and ample vertical drops, Chen said. Yabuli's highest peak rises to 1,374.8 meters, while its longest ski run extends to 5 kilometers.

Yabuli first gained national and international recognition in 1996, when Harbin hosted the 3rd Asian Winter Games. The resort's appearance on China Central Television's broadcast also helped draw the attention of tourists, marking the beginning of the region's transformation into a premier winter destination.

Former cross-country skier Qu Donghai made history at those 1996 games, becoming the first Chinese athlete to compete in the snow event. He secured a silver medal in the men's 15-km freestyle Cross-Country Skiing competition.

Looking back, Qu remembers basic conditions on the ski trails, outdated skis, worn gear, and minimal infrastructure. Yet, fueled by the cheers of the crowd, he managed to secure a place on the podium. He also recalls the striking image of volunteers carrying snow from the base of the mountain to prepare the surface.

Now 52, Qu is a member of the Asian Winter Games organizing committee, and oversaw event services for the competition zone in Yabuli. Having also served as a technical official at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Qu has witnessed firsthand the transformation of both Beijing and Yabuli into international-class winter sports venues.

"The ski trails have been widened, and all improvements were made in accordance with international competition standards," Qu said.

Visitors take photos in front of the snow sculptures at Yabuli Ski Resort on Jan 16. (Xie Jianfei/Xinhua)

Natural advantages