Yabuli Ski resort

Many thanks for your contribution and the pictures.

Yabuli is indeed worth a trip. There are some challenging runs (the two slopes in the middle on picture number one) and it's a nice place for 2 or even 3 days of skiing. Combined with visiting the Ice festival in Haerbin (picture four) it's a nice experience. Now apparently also the train connection is faster and as I heard it takes just 11 hours to get to Haerbin (another 2 hours by car to Yabuli).
However, for Powder enthusiasts, dont expect in Yabuli huge amounts of snow. As whole China also Heilongjiang is rather dry and snow falls come not too often (as you can see on picture two). If you are very lucky, you just arrive after a snowfall, but dont expect more than 20-30 cm.
Another minus point in Yabuly is that only half of the ski area is open to the public. The bigger (more interesting looking mountain - first picture on the left side in the background) is only open to the Chinese ski teams (for a European this is unusual, then except for major ski race events there is never a whole mountain just reserved for the trainings of racing teams).

Apparently a Western consortium is investing in Yabuli, so let's see how they develop in the next years. I am sure Yabuli will get it more and more hard with the strong competition in Hebei (Wanlong and Dolomiti) and the brand new Pingtian Resort (www.pingtianresorts.com) opening next year near Urumqi, so it's time for upgrades up there to re attract snowsports enthusiasts.

Thanks also for the link. The price list is a good laugh! ;-)

Cheers
Christoph

• reply
• report as spam

Yabuli Investors

In case you missed my post in "A Rustic Experieince" the following is from the Investor's (Melco - the gaming giant in Macau) web site:

MELCO CHINA RESORTS
While China’s tourism activities are currently focused on the awe-inspiring historical and cultural attractions such as The Great Wall and The Forbidden City, China is a country rich in tremendous natural attractions. So take China’s mountainous terrain, the increasing prosperity of the Chinese people and their enthusiasm for leisure, recreation and sporting pursuits, and one has the ingredients for an exhilarating new venture for Melco – destination ski resorts.

Melco has identified the largest and most exceptional portfolio of attractive existing ski resorts possessing location advantages, dominant market positions and healthy expansion potential. The first projects include Yabuli in Harbin, two resorts in Jilin Province, and a fourth mountain located close to the major market of Beijing, with more sites under consideration.

• reply
• report as spam