I was determined to go in search of deep snow in the Northeast of China.
I heard about the Asian Winter Games and decided that was the most likely place to look. Dalian’s railway station gave me the usual “No tickets to Changchun or Jilin” response, but it was easy to buy a soft seat to Shenyang where many trains would pass. I arrived in Shenyang at 2:10pm, was directed to daily sales upstairs and after some confusion, bought a soft seat to Jilin for 58Y leaving at 2:40! I passed a pleasant trip on a slow N train, conversing with a Chinese woman who has lived for ten years in Tokyo with her Japanese husband and one child.
Upon arrival in Jilin, I glanced at the buses, touts, and taxis but kept walking until I found an attractive Japanese restaurant a block away and ordered beef noodles. A friendly waiter who claimed he likes to help people offered to show me a 3-star economy hotel. It was on the low end for a 3-star but quiet and clean, and at 140Y I was not complaining (remember that Lonely Planet’s 2002 edition said that there was no cheap accommodation in Jilin once the snow starts to fall?).
When my helper insisted on guiding me to find the connection to the mountain, the trouble began. First he tried the railway station, then the city buses, and finally the taxi drivers. When the taxi drivers, who sounded as if they all belonged to the same union, quoted 200Y to the mountain, I declined and my helper became upset and we parted company. A block away I found another 3-star hotel with advertising in the lobby for all 5 ski hills and a friendly manager who described where to find the pick up point to the mountain.
The next day I tried to board bus #33 but the driver told me it went to another mountain, not Bei Da Hu, and he followed me up the street until I came to the long-distance bus depot and indicated I should enter there. The clerk in the station told me to hurry and led me to the correct bus in the bay outside. My 10Y trip took one hour and forty-five minutes to drop me at the ski resort parking lot at 8:45 am.
The ski resort building is an impressive structure of three storeys situated in a small valley between two steep ridges. The ridge on the left has chairlift access and the other ridge is serviced by a brand new gondola by Dopplemeyer. Rooms at the resort were 420Y, no discount, and ski rates started at 160Y for 2 hours, 240 for 4, and 320 for the whole day. The equipment dispersal area had abundant skis and the stalls next to it sold world famous brands of clothing and equipment.
The first run I tried was the wide intermediate slope off the chair on the left ridge. Unfortunately, the second chair to the summit was closed so that cut off access to another trail leading to a tow in the valley. The main feature on this wide slope was a hollowed out, tubular-shaped depression with curved walls about 4 metres high and 50 metres in length for snowboard artists who upon exiting could fling themselves off three successive jumps. However, I treated these jumps like huge moguls because I had visions of medivac costs if I broke any bones on this trip.
After this warm-up, I tried the gondola which has an exit point halfway up the other ridge. It dropped me on the advanced run used during the races: about 30-50 metres wide, maybe 1900 metres long, and plenty of pitch, curves and artificial snow to make it interesting, but no moguls yet. Powerful snow making machines that look as if they dropped off a 747 jet keep these slopes well covered in snow. Later, I went to the top by gondola and tried the intermediate and advanced trails (some were closed). The world class ski jumps to the left of the chairlift run looked as if they could launch hang-gliders, and I had no regrets at not trying them. This mountain has potential and was worth the effort to get there.
I had to leave by 2:30 because that was the last pick up by local bus. On the way back, the journey is through local markets and country housing, a snapshot of rural Jilin. I asked my friends in Dalian later why I could not find a resort bus connecting this ski development to Jilin city? They suggested that local authorities did not want the site devastated by day-tripping tourists who would litter it like Chang Bai Shan, so they are determined to preserve it.
Since there wasn’t any hot water in the first hotel I booked, I tried the Jiao Tong Binguan , the 3-star with the ski poster in the lobby two blocks straight ahead of the railway station, and got a double for 160Y. After a bath, I tried the hotel’s restaurant and ordered a chicken in a bowl warmed up with one of those flame pots underneath – I was surprised when I picked up a rooster’s head in the soup. A friendly couple next to my table offered to help me purchase a train ticket for the next day, but I said I wanted to try another of the ski hills around Jilin.
So the next morning I took the local bus #33 to Zhuo Quo Shan near Songhua Lake. It was only 12 km away and was reputed to be their #2 mountain. The bus dropped me on the highway beside the river where I had to take a 10Y taxi through the local village to the site. The sign on the highway showed a three-tow hill, but when I arrive I found it was a 2-tow beginners’ run with a slope covered in ice. I paid my 40Y rental fee and tried to turn on ice with skis with dull edges. I asked where the third tow was and they just shook their heads. I gave up after two runs, calling it a contribution to junior skiing, loaded up my backpacks and decided to walk the half mile out to the highway and flag a local bus.
It was an interesting walk. I passed at least 4 small hotels in various stages of completion. There was one expansive courtyard resort in a rectangular shape but not open this time of year. The next large structure was a resort about 200 yards off the village road that looked like it had come from Disneyland. It was named Big View Park – I looked for the view but could not find it. It had a fortress-like ring of two or three storey buildings enclosing a central area with an imposing hotel in the center with a man made rock garden behind. The color scheme was bright pink and deep blue on the walls. It must be a big time summer operation for tourists. What they do there is a mystery to me. Chinese people don’t seem to be very demanding about recreational options as long as they can gather in restaurants in large groups and converse. I stopped at a country restaurant that was quiet on the outside but packed full inside. No coffee, so I continued my walk.
The country cottages in this village were spaced apart, unlike the industrial hovels jammed together near the factories close to the cities I saw on my train trips. They each had some sort of corn crib made of steel bars and wire mesh capable of holding at least 12 cubic metres of corn. Do the farmers sell this corn or live off it for the year? Finally I arrived at the highway where two taxi drivers offered to take me to Jilin for 40Y. I declined because I knew the #33 bus passed frequently and charged 2.5Y for this trip. These buses are new, in good mechanical shape, and have working shock absorbers, so I had no fear for my safety when I flagged one down. About 10 minutes later, the driver stopped at a factory discharging employees who had attended a year end party. He actually loaded about 20 more passengers into the standing room area of this 30 passenger commuter bus. Only in China! Crossing the Songhua River, I didn’t see any ice on the trees. The river is quite wide here but shallow. The 5-star hotels line the river’s edge. As we proceeded through the city, I saw several examples of modern construction that were imaginative. However, my general impression was that development is occurring later here than in Dalian. The brick sidewalks can be treacherous and the gray concrete buildings are from an earlier time. Perhaps there are newer suburbs that I did not get to see.
During a pleasant lunch at Dicos, I spoke with three women and their children who wanted to practise their English. Then I headed for the railway station where luckily I got a ticket, a sleeper for 74Y to Shenyang: train 2224 would leave in an hour. Notice the lack of “K” or “N” letters before the train number which means there is no surcharge for speed since this type of train stops everywhere. Coal smoke from the furnace at the end of the car for the hot water heating system can irritate some people. During the journey, I spoke with a young man who worked for the 555 cigarette company, and discovered that my favorite tobacco product was manufactured in Singapore.
We arrived in Shenyang about 11pm, so after a coffee at McDonald’s I made for the Railway Hotel where I could have a sleeping cot for 128Y or a double room for 180Y. I chose the double and from the window high up watched the nighttime crowds steadily coming to and fro at this busy station. The next day I thought about skiing at Dong Bei Ya (forget Qi Pan Shan – beginners only), but I knew I could not use my Visa credit card in the ATMs here, and I did not think the 2nd floor office of the Bank of China would be open on a Sunday to do the paper method of Visa cash advance. I went in search of a ticket to Dalian during this peak holiday traffic time. After 20 minutes in the line at the booking office, the clerk would not sell me a ticket, pointed to the 2nd floor and wrote a note. Upstairs, a pair of helpful students told me that the 51 in this note referred to the booth where I could buy the same-day soft seat.
Shenyang’s procedures always frustrate me at both railway stations (at the Peace Hotel near the south station, get the desk next to the travel agency in the hotel to buy your ticket for you for 5Y extra). I purchased my soft seat for 87Y with the help of these students and set out for UBC coffee nearby. At 1pm I boarded the train to find the carriage was quite crowded. The fellow beside me loaded the overhead rack with bags of rice and placed jugs of yellow cooking oil under the table. I saw that the connecting carriage was one of those two-level cars and it looked empty. The female conductor indicated I could change seats for an extra 9Y, so I had a four- seat compartment to myself.
Close to Dalian, I noticed the growth in industry and housing in Jinzhou. Are factories relocating outside Dalian to this city? Arrival in Dalian was prompt at 5pm. I had had no real trouble purchasing 4 train tickets and 4 bus connections to outlying ski sites during this peak travel time of year on my own. My total cost during four days of travel and skiing was 1628 rmb or $232 Canadian. I don’t think I could have gone this far, stayed in hotels, and skied in Canada for this amount of money.
dennisfish
- Bei Da Hu Ski Resort is not recommended
|Registered
|2008-08-26 15:24:11
Despite it had hosted the Asian Winter Game, BeiDaHu is not the ski resort I would recommend for intermediate of advanced skiiers. The resort is poorly managed, ski runs are not properly looked after, and the ski school is manned by inexperienced trainers. Food is terribly served. The resort has nothing but its fame. Stay away from it.
Well Dennis, which site would you recommend in the northeast that has comparable facilities? Shenyang's mountain is well-run but does not come close to the challenge of Jilin. Haerbin is a long trip and it is not cheap to ski there.
Intermediate and advanced skiers don't need instructors if they ski within their abilitiy. Why the chip on your shoulder about this site?
Apelsin
clabic
