IN NANSHAN Ski Village, located about 80km from Beijing, everything plays second fiddle to the 150,000ha of adjoining peaks that have been transformed into a winter playground with the aid of snow cannons.
From a tourist's perspective, it is nothing short of spectacular. Snow-swaddled mountains, at times shimmering golden with the light of the sun, enclose every view; nearby verdant trails sprout trees lush and roaring green.
After paying the entrance fee ($4), I made my way through hordes of people milling around full-service ski shops carrying the necessary accessories. Since it would be my first time on the slopes after more than a decade, I needed help to get re-oriented.
Thanks largely to my instructor, Mr Wang, I managed to surmount the initial chaos of scrambling for chairlift tickets, renting ski equipment and securing a locker. It also did not take me long to slide, drift and even skid with finesse. The trick, said Mr Wang, was to 'give up control and go with the flow'.
Soon, I was cruising the easy trails, slaloming around beginners and re- igniting my penchant for what I should really be doing every winter - no-holds-barred, all-day skiing.
After all, this is an affordable ski vacation compared to other Asian destinations like Korea and Japan. In Nanshan, lift tickets and ski rentals are a bargain, costing from $20 for three hours to $70 for a full day during weekends.
A combination of quadruple chairlifts and rope tows serves eight trails for beginners, intermediate and advanced skiers; snowboarding and a 1,318m-long toboggan run are also available.
Still, most people travel to Nanshan simply to ski. With normal ski resort activities such as spa treatments and shopping almost absent, most of your time is spent on the slopes.
Mornings may be spent cutting the first tracks through the powder on the beginner's slope or intermediate trail, a warm-up to taking on the alpine runs eventually.
In the afternoons, as the sun softens the bumps, there is no better place to experience giddy free fall than on the seemingly endless advanced trail. Meals are the bridge between skiing.
By the time I schussed down my final run of the morning, I was imagining what I would be having for lunch - freshly brewed tea, dry beef noodles and hot cabbage soup - on the sun-kissed terrace of eateries that overlook a winter wonderland.
After restoring the calories that I had burnt by hiking up and down the various pistes, I decided to head towards a more challenging trail, striated with moguls and steep chutes.
However, it took me more than 40 minutes to reach a spot worth descending from, as I had to wrestle with the crowd, mostly Chinese tourists who excel in fighting their way to the head of the line with impunity.
But that angst was nothing compared to the doubts that filled my mind as I perched on the crest of a steep, mogul-filled trail. What if I break my leg? Should I ask the ski patrollers to stand by?
Then I remembered what Mr Wang had told me - that skiing in bumpy and precipitous terrain did not necessarily demand extraordinary agility and reflexes. Rather, it was about putting subtle pressure on the feet and ankles, and the ability to check speed and stay balanced.
Then, with the sun on my back, I made that leap and survived to tell this tale.
5 things to do
1 Do wear a helmet and a pair of goggles for protection.
2 Do buddy up with someone more experienced or get ski lessons if you're a beginner.
3 Do make sure your skis are on firmly, especially if you're on a chairlift.
4 Do take time to fully understand the process of equipment rental and lift-ticket purchase before embarking on it, as it can get rather messy.
5 Do be prepared to fall. Learning to ski, like riding a bicycle for the first time, takes guts and practice.
2 don'ts
1 Don't be a nice guy and be pushed around in queues or you'll never be able to get on that chairlift.
2 Don't go skiing without training your leg muscles - squats and leg curls have proven to be helpful.
This article was first published in ST Life! on May 6, 2008.
