After 50 years, ski base hits peak performance

After training three times at the Yabuli Sports Training Base, Alpine skier Fayik Abdi from Saudi Arabia was impressed by the venue's diverse terrain.

"The terrain is great — it offers a bit of everything. The snow is very aggressive, different from Europe, so it takes some time to adjust to," said Abdi at the base in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province.

The 27-year-old spent a week in Yabuli for the 9th Asian Winter Games. Though he did not finish his race in his Games debut, Abdi — Saudi Arabia's first ever Alpine skier — had the opportunity to experience the winding, tree-lined ski trails for which Yabuli is famed.

Earlier this month, the snow events of the Asian Winter Games were held in Yabuli, with 32 gold medals awarded. Xu Mengtao, a Beijing Winter Olympics gold medalist and the Chinese delegation's flag bearer at the closing ceremony, also praised the venue. She earned two golds and one silver in the competition.

"This venue is exceptional, and the weather was perfect for the competition. I'm thrilled to have waited 18 years to win my first Asian Winter Games gold here," Xu said.

Over the past three decades, Yabuli Ski Resort — around 200 kilometers from downtown Harbin in the Lesser Khingan Mountains — has become a pivotal site for China's winter sports development. Thrust into the spotlight when it hosted the 1996 Asian Winter Games, Yabuli further cemented its reputation with the 2009 Winter Universiade.

With the return of the Asian Winter Games to Yabuli after 29 years, the spotlight on this once-remote destination has shone brighter than ever. Growing from its early days as the birthplace of China's snow sports to its current status as a premier national tourism destination, Yabuli now attracts millions of winter sports enthusiasts every year.