Abandoned mines transformed into N China ski resort

TAIYUAN -- After the end of the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, the Wujinshan Li Ning International Ski Resort in Jinzhong city, North China's Shanxi province, is still bustling with skiing enthusiasts.

There are four ski resorts in the Wujin Mountain area, which was once a coal-rich mining region.

"I heard from elders that this place was a mine when I was young. I never thought it could be transformed into a ski resort," said a tourist surnamed Jiang.

Wang Fei, deputy mayor of Wujinshan, said the town had seven coal mines, as well as numerous enterprises involved in coal, building materials and metallurgy a decade ago.

"With the excessive exploitation of resources, the vegetation on the mountains was severely damaged, and many areas turned into abandoned mines," said Wang.

With remnants of the abandoned mine shafts still in sight now, few could imagine how this once devastated and scarred old mining area has been transformed into a winter sports hub.

According to Wang, various revegetation techniques have been adopted to green approximately 236,000 square meters of barren mountains.

Besides skiing, the Wujinshan resort also offers a variety of snow-based activities. Visitors ride snowmobiles across the plains, and build snowmen and have snowball fights with family and friends.

Zhang Yingjie, head of Jinzhong's Yuci district, said the district is capitalizing on its geographical location and high-quality ski trail resources to develop the ice and snow economy as a new growth point, injecting new vitality into the economy with an entire industrial chain of winter sports, culture, equipment and tourism.

In the 2023-24 snow season, Jinzhong's ski resorts received nearly 250,000 visitors, with revenue of around 22 million yuan ($3 million), a 25 percent year-on-year increase.

Jinzhong has also strengthened the leading role of ice and snow events, hosting more than 10 international ski, public Alpine skiing, and cross-country skiing competitions.

By providing youth training and organizing public ice and snow activities, the city has promoted winter sports to a wider range of consumers.

As night falls, the Wujinshan Ski Resort becomes even livelier. Visitors gather around the bonfire in the center of the resort, singing and dancing, adding warmth and vitality to the cold winter night.