Summer skiing in hot demand on artificial slopes

Watching his young son confidently ploughing a steady line through the snow comes with a great sense of pride for Li Xiaojun.

Li and his 8-year-old boy have been regulars at an indoor skiing center in Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia Hui autonomous region, this summer, and now the sessions are really starting to pay off.

"Practicing more can help train the muscles to memorize the movements, so he can catch up more easily when winter comes," Li said.

As an experienced off-piste skier himself, Li was keen to encourage his little guy to take to the slopes too. Last winter, he took his son to a skiing camp, and thanks to the indoor center his learning curve does not need to be limited by the changing of the seasons.

"I didn't expect that he would be so into skiing that he would practice so hard this summer," said Li.

"I still remember that I had to follow and safeguard my son at the beginning, but later he could do it himself. He fell down and picked himself up quickly instead of crying. I hope this sport can inspire him to overcome difficulties in life and in his studies in future."

Li Yuheng, a coach at the indoor center and a member of Ningxia Snow Area Club, has 56 students this summer, and sometimes gives 12 classes a day.

"I think this is the busiest summer I have ever had. Sometimes I don't even have time to eat," he said.

Another club member, 58-year-old Zhao Ling spends about a month every winter skiing in various resorts across China. She swims or practices tai chi during the rest of the year to maintain her fitness.

Having discovered the delights of the indoor center, which also features simulation ski slopes, Zhao can keep in even better condition.

"I am addicted to skiing, and when I learned about this place I couldn't wait to try it," Zhao said.

Li Yuheng said the center is an increasingly popular choice for skiers during the summer, and its two simulation slopes can accommodate 16 people at the same time, attracting over 180 regular members and 2,500 people in total.

Over the last five years, the number of regular members at the Ningxia Snow Area Club has increased from just 30 to 1,400, said its chairman, Jiao Jian.

"Skiing is gaining popularity among retirees who are free from work and family commitments, and also among parents as a way of educating teenagers," Jiao said.

Under the Chinese government's plan to involve 300 million people in ice and snow sports by 2022 in the run-up to the Beijing Winter Olympics, Ningxia's sports bureau began to introduce these activities to primary and middle schools.

Jiao was invited to give lectures about curling to 3,000 students across eight schools last June. Before the summer holidays, he went to four schools to teach students roller skating－the summer equivalent of ice skating.

"Apart from the icy conditions, the rules and skills are the same as training children on land. Students are interested in those sports, and many of them are keen to experience more," Jiao said.

Jiao is happy to see more teenagers engage in winter sports. "I enjoy the feeling of conquering snow mountains, and skiing has now become part of my life," he added. "I believe students will learn how to overcome unknown challenges and benefit from this sport too."