(CRI)
Updated: 2008-01-21 10:41

More than 2,000 skiers at a ski resort in eastern Beijing disrupted the venue's operations Saturday when they were refused ski equipment and told they had to wait until skis and boots were available, the Beijing News reported yesterday.

The skiers responded angrily with some initiating confrontations with staff members at Yuyang Ski Resort in the capital's Pinggu District. The resort admitted nearly 8,000 skiers Saturday, almost 3,000 more than its ideal capacity.

While crowds of people argued and shouted with staff workers, demanding their own ski equipments, some 20 angry visitors rushed onto the ski run and stopped the cable service, leaving a dozen skiers stranded in the air for several minutes.

Many skiers were discontent with the situation. One surnamed Cai said the ski resort should be aware of its capacity and could not just keep making money by admitting people and forget about its responsibilities.

Order was finally restored around 10:30 a.m. after police intervened. They ordered the resort to issue refunds to 760 customers who then left, while the remaining 200 decided to wait.

Dai Liangzhao, a ski resort manager, said the staff did not expect so many people to come at once and promised to make more of an effort to predict incoming visitor numbers in the future.

Because most of Beijing's ski resorts are far from the city proper, many of them must cooperate with travel agencies or tour operators to get business. They are often full to capacity on weekends.