The Value of Snow

　　In July 2015 when President of theInternational Olympic Committee ThomasBach announced that Beijing had wonthe right to host the 2022 Olympic andParalympic Winter Games, people in Chongli,a district of Zhangjiakou City in north China’sHebei Province, were even more excited thanpeople in the capital. Overnight, the unknowndistrict became famous nationwide thanks to itspartnership with Beijing to co-host the OlympicWinter Games 2022. Since the announcement,snow, which can be seen in Chongli for up to150 days a year, has taken on a special meaning.

　　As an important venue for the games, Chongli,220 km northwest of Beijing, will host most ofthe snow sports events. Of the 109 gold medalsup for grabs at the 2022 games, 51 will becompeted for in Chongli. Having seized thismajor opportunity, Chongli has embraced theabundance of snow to develop its economyand, more importantly, improve local people’slivelihoods by breaking the shackles of poverty.

　　Snow was once a major headache for locals,but it has now become a major source of attractionfor tourists and investment. The change infortunes came about in 1996, when Chongli’sfirst ski resort opened its doors to the public.After more than 20 years of development, seventop-level ski resorts have been built in the district,bringing the total number of ski coursesto 169 over a distance of 162 km.

　　After 2015, Chongli entered its Olympic WinterGames era and held many large competitions soas to gain experience for 2022. During the 2018-19 season, the district held 13 top-level internationalprofessional events and 60 national skiingevents, attracting large numbers of enthusiasts.

　　The development has greatly benefited locals,with revenue increasing by 200 million yuan($29 million) annually, exceeding 1 billion yuan($145 million) in 2018. Of the over 130,000residents of Chongli, more than 30,000 workdirectly and indirectly for local ski resorts. Inthe past, locals usually migrated to the big citiesto work. But now, more and more local folk arereturning to their hometown to work.

　　In addition, international hotels such as FourSeasons, InterContinental and Westin nowalso have a presence in Chongli, targeting theincreasing tourist numbers.

　　In two years, Chongli will be the focus ofthe world’s winter sports attention and by allaccounts the booming location is all systemsgo. CA

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