A woman skis at the Mountaintop Ski Resort with the help of nearby coaches. [Photo/IC]
During the Spring Festival holiday from Jan 31 to Feb 6, the Mountaintop Ski Resort located in Panfeng township, Pan'an county in Zhejiang province, received a large number of skiers.
The resort, 1,070 meters in altitude and 90,000 square meters in area, opened in early 2018. It can accommodate up to 3,000 skiers and has a maximum vertical distance of 73 meters.
Around 20 snowmakers operate round the clock every day at the resort, ensuring the snow season in the warm locality to the south of Yangtze River lasts 50 to 70 days every year.
Guo Peng, general manager of the resort, was born and raised in Harbin in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province. Guo told local media reporters that he started looking for a suitable venue for a ski resort in southern China in 2015 when Beijing was designated the host city of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, a milestone event heralding the country's rapid development in winter sports. He ultimately chose Pan'an due to its location and market potential.
Skiing is gradually becoming a popular sport in Pan'an and its surrounding regions. "Many of the visitors are skiing for the first time in their lives. Some enthusiasts have even bought quarterly entry cards and regularly drive here in the winter,"said skiing coach Jiang Dongen.
"Today marks the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Following strict pandemic prevention and control instructions, our resort has already reached its maximum visitor capacity. I believe the Winter Games will surely offer a boost to winter sports in the southern regions," said Guo on Feb 4. He also announced that the second-phase of construction on the resort is being carried out at an accelerated pace so that it can better meet surging demand in the coming seasons.
