Xi's vision helps boost nation's winter sports

Spawning growth

Foreign investors have also benefited from the ski center's development over the years.

Tian Moyi, a marketing manager of MND Group, a French company that deals in ropeways, snow systems, mountain safety and leisure infrastructure, said the immense potential for winter sports in China was behind the company's decision to launch a joint venture in Zhangjiakou in 2017.

With the number of ski resorts expanding nationwide, the company has expanded its business to Sichuan province and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, she said.

"We are more than optimistic about the prospect of growth in China. As the people get richer, the demand for winter sports and leisure will naturally grow," she said.

Shu Wen, executive vice-president of Genting Snow Park in Chongli, a ski resort backed by Malaysian investment, was also optimistic that China's winter sports sector will register more robust growth after the Games.

The park, home to freestyle skiing and some snowboarding events during the Winter Games, is prepared to welcome more tourists in the future, with improved infrastructure and additional hotel beds built to accommodate the Olympic athletes, he said.

A growing number of people are also being employed at ice rinks and ski resorts.

Liu, the skiing coach, said she began skiing in 2015 in the outer suburbs of Beijing. The allure of the snow proved so irresistible that she eventually decided to become a full-time skiing coach.

The inflow of capital to the sector and rise in public enthusiasm has convinced her that skiing can also be pursued as a profession, she said.

Even with the rising popularity of winter sports, some analysts say an improved coaching system and development of a skiing culture are required for the sector to truly thrive.

"For China, to develop more elite athletes and to cultivate more widespread recreational participation requires a system of coaching, and more indoor skating rinks, ski lifts and special facilities for some sports like halfpipe, aerials and ski jumping," said Brownell, the sports anthropologist.

"It will take many years for Chinese ski resorts to be able to challenge the famous ski locations as a destination for international tourists, but I expect that this will gradually happen," she added.

Zhang Yu in Shijiazhuang contributed to this story.