Skiers and snowboarders in Beijing now have a new destination at Wanlong Ski Resort, 12 kilometres north of Chongli, Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province. It takes less than four hours to get to the resort by car from Beijing.

Wanlong Ski Resort is located at the Honghualiang in Chongli County. Covering 30 square kilometers, the resort is the first open ski resort in China with its highest point at 2,110 metres above sea level.

The first phase of the resort has five slopes of differing difficulty with a total length of 7,150 metres provide pistes for carvers, beginners and professionals.

Golden Dragon Piste, which is 1,800 metres long, is in the middle of the mountain. It is designed for intermediate skiers. Silver Dragon piste, which is 2,000 metres long, is a challenging black run that should be the most popular. The longest run is Jade Dragon piste, which is 2,500 metres long and the shortest is Little Dragon, which is only 800 metres long.

There is also a 500-metre-long slope for beginners.

Located in northwest Hebei Province, Chongli has been dubbed the "back garden of Beijing" and enjoys a mountain slope of between 5 and 35 degrees. The area has an average snowfall of 63.5 cm in winter. Accumulated snow can reach as high as one metre and can stay for as long as 150 days.

The quality, hardness and viscosity of the snow are ideal for skiing. The average temperature in winter is minus 15 degrees while the wind speed is only grade two, which is fit for outdoor activities. Armed with advanced facilities, the resort is qualified to host international ski competitions including World Cup events.

Wanlong is the resort that opens the earliest in China. It has the longest skiing period and boasts the best facilities in China.

To date, it has been a training resort for more than 150 domestic and foreign professional athletes. Heilongjiang provincial ski team, Harbin municipal ski team, China Salomon Youth Ski Team and other clubs from Japan and the Republic of Korea are also based in the resort every year.

(China Daily 12/30/2005 page17)