From Knight-Ridder, via the San Jose Mercury News:
Enthusiasm — rather than knowledge — is what marks the sudden rise of winter sports around China’s capital, where a flurry of ski resorts and an indoor ski dome have opened in the past few years. Some of the resorts are within sight of the Great Wall of China.
For newly affluent urban Chinese, skiing has become chic.
“It’s new. It’s fashionable. Many Beijing residents want to try new things,” said Yang Fei, a 28-year-old avid snowboarder. “Maybe a few years ago people would have thought it was expensive. But now it’s all right.”
The rise of skiing coincides directly with soaring affluence in Beijing and other urban areas, where people are looking for ways to spend time and money.
