2016年CRI Chinese Tourists Take to Ski Slopes during Lunar New Year Holiday

 

With the Lunar New Year holiday now in full-swing, many are taking time to head to Chongli County in Hebei to try their hand at skiing.

Chongli is located on the outskirts¹ of Zhangjiakou, around 220-kilometers northwest of Beijing.

Even before the granting of the Winter Olympics by the International Olympic Committee, Chongli County had already become an increasingly popular winter tourist destination.

"I used to spend the Lunar New Year holiday touring around the city and visiting relatives, getting money in my 'hongbao.' This year, I spent all that money I saved over the previous holidays to buy skis and the passes to the ski resorts. I love skiing. I really do."

Skiing and other winter sports are being promoted in China, given that Beijing and Zhangjiakou are set to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Chongli County, which has five well-equipped ski resorts, is already known in China as the training center for experienced skiers.

Wang Zhong, a ski instructor² from Beijing Union University, says he decided³ to move his training sessions to Chongli to make use of the equipment.

"Many amateurs from Beijing have come to Chongli to practice their skiing skills. They've been improving quickly. We used to train our students at local ski resorts in Beijing, but they aren't good enough for students who want to actually improve. So this is why we decided to come here last year."

In awarding of the Olympic Games to Hebei, authorities in Beijing's surrounding province have plans to build a multi-billion yuan winter sports industry.

The hope is to transform Hebei into a premier⁴ destination for winter sports in time for the 2022 Games.

Plans include developing a high-end venue⁵ for winter sports in each of Hebei's 11 major cities in the next 8-years.

The start of the calendar year on January 1st saw Chongli County attract nearly 100-thousand visitors over the 3-day holiday.

1 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

2 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

5 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。