A growing number of Chinese campaigners are reported to be criticizing uncontrolled ski resort development in the country.
Campaigners are concerned that snow making equipment is being installed in areas with marginal snow cover in an attempt during warmer, shorter winters with diminishing snowfall. They’re worried about the massive amounts of energy needed to run the snow-making equipment.
Zhao Yinggang, an official with China’s General Administration of Sport, told Chinese media that Chinese snow, “has become more irregular, falling far short of the quality needed for skiing.” He said that snowmaking was needed to fill the gap.
In Beijing, where 16 million people live, warmer, shorter winters are reported to be hitting the city’s ski resorts hard, with fewer skiers arriving on the slopes of the capital’s dozen or so ski areas. The cost of snowmaking makes them less profitable and several are reported to have closed.
The concerns over skiing are shared by professional skiers. Han Xiaopeng, China’s first Olympic skiing gold medalist, said the warming may cause a decline in the sport’s popularity against the trend of huge growth over the past decade.