Young ski enthusiast wants to take winter dream back home to China

In the snowy Japanese island of Hokkaido, Chen Ziyi has been chasing his "winter dreams" this month by getting used to the cold weather in the popular winter sports tourism town Niseko.

"I have always loved snow and winter sports. Maybe because I didn't get much chance to see snow in my hometown," Chen says.

"But I was really shocked by the cold weather here in Niseko, especially during windy days when people can feel a huge difference in pressure and temperature between the windward and leeward surfaces of slopes."

The 25-year-old Chen is among an emerging group of young Chinese people who have discovered their love for winter sports, and are contributing to China's growth as an emerging winter sports powerhouse.

Though Chen is a native of the southern Chinese city Shenzhen where its average lowest temperature in the coldest month of January is 16.1 C, he never imagined that his love for winter sports could not "keep the cold out better than a cloak".

After graduating in tourism management from a university in Tokyo, Chen found his first job in Niseko in November to learn everything he needs to know about operating a ski resort.

"Winter sports are getting popular in China right now, especially at a time when Beijing is going to hold the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games next year," he says.

Beijing is capturing headlines for cultivating the greatest snow sports boom the world has ever seen.

Experts believe that the development course and practices of Japan's ice and snow industry provide good reference for the development of China's ice and snow industry.

Emerging destinations

The 2021 International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism, compiled each year by Swiss consultant Laurent Vanat, says China is catching up with Japan to be one of the emerging destinations of winter sports, a factor that increases the weight of Asia as an international skiing tourism destination.

The report also says more than half of all indoor snow centers built in the past decade were in China. With the 2022 Winter Olympics giving winter sports a boost, there are now more ski areas in nearly all Chinese provinces.

"China will soon rank among the big players of the industry, even if this has been slowed down by the pandemic. During the 2019-20 season, Chinese ski areas were the first to close down, but they were also among the first to reopen ... thanks to strict control over the virus," the report says.

In supporting China's winter sports development, Yasuhiro Yamashita, president of Japan's Olympic Committee, said he gave Beijing his best wishes to stage a successful Winter Olympic Games in February.

"The Japanese delegation will be officially unveiled on Jan 29 and depart for Beijing on Jan 30. I will join them, too. Although we have not decided how many athletes will be competing, but there will be more than 200 members," said Yamashita during an exhibition launch on the Beijing Winter Olympics in Tokyo in November.

"I think our athletes will live up to the expectations of the Japanese people."

Japan is also preparing for its own bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics, and Niseko has been chosen as a possible venue for the downhill and slalom events.

Known for its powder snow, or "Japow" among ski enthusiasts, Niseko is rated as one of the most popular places for winter sports in the world. It has four ski resorts connected to each other at the top of a 1,308-meter mountain called Niseko Annupuri.

The winning bid for the 2030 Games is expected to be announced at the 139th International Olympic Committee Session in Beijing next year. However, the competition could be stiff as Canada's Vancouver and the United States' Salt Lake City also joined in the race.

Meanwhile in Niseko, Chen wants to learn more about Japan's winter tourism industry and bring this experience to more Chinese people to "enjoy and appreciate the beauty of winter" by opening a ski resort of his own one day.

"Japan has cultivated a great winter sports culture and developed sophisticated industries for it," he says.