By Yu Leshuang | As the skiing season arrives, major ski resorts in the suburbs of Beijing have completed artificial snowmaking to welcome their first visitors. Unlike other ski resorts, the Huairou District’s Huabei International Ski Resort doesn’t use groundwater for snowmaking — it uses rainflood water.
The Huabei International Ski Resort is located in Hefengkou Village, Huabei Town, and was rebuilt from the Jiugukou Scenic Area. Built along the mountain terrain, the resort features the Jiugukou section of the Great Wall, offering spectacular scenery. Meanwhile, the undulating mountain landscape also creates favorable conditions for collecting and utilizing rainflood water.
Since the ski resort was constructed and opened in 2000, it has taken advantage of the area’s geographical conditions to build five rainwater collection pools, with one more added this year. “The total storage capacity of the six rainwater pools adds up to 150,000 cubic meters. All the water comes from rainwater, mountain floods, and spring water collected in the summer, which is sufficient for the resort’s snowmaking needs,” said An Yachen, head of the ski resort.
An Yachen explained that thanks to the six rainwater pools, the air humidity is high all year round, and the air quality around the ski site is also excellent. When the snow melts in spring, it can be collected again for secondary use. “Hefengkou Village, where we’re located, is known for its Red Core Pears, but irrigation used to be a challenge. Since the ski resort was built, the snowmelt water is now used to irrigate hundreds of acres of pear orchards in the surrounding area in spring, ensuring stable pear yields.”
With the recycling of rainflood water, groundwater is protected, vegetation in the Jiugukou Scenic Area continues to thrive, and wildlife in the mountains has been increasing year by year.
Moreover, for skiing enthusiasts, snow made from surface water offers better comfort and safety. “The temperature of surface water is between 0 and 3 degrees Celsius. One cubic meter of water can produce 2.4 cubic meters of snow, and the resulting snow has low water content, making it looser — what we call ‘powder snow’ — which is closer to natural snowfall,” An Yachen told reporters. In contrast, groundwater is usually around 13 degrees Celsius, relatively warm. Typically, one cubic meter of groundwater produces only about 2 cubic meters of snow. Furthermore, this type of snow has high water content and viscosity. It tends to melt easily when temperatures rise and can form an ice crust on the ski slope surface when temperatures drop again. This kind of snow is called ‘ice snow,’ which not only affects skiing comfort and speed, but also poses safety hazards due to the slippery surface.
In 2022, Beijing will jointly host the Winter Olympics with Zhangjiakou. Starting this year, major ski resorts in the suburbs of Beijing have undergone upgrades and renovations, and some scenic areas without ice and snow activities are also adding related facilities. “If every venue offering ice and snow sports could prioritize building rainwater collection systems and use rainflood water for snowmaking, the development of winter sports wouldn’t lead to overexploitation of groundwater. Instead, it would help conserve the ecosystem — which is even more in line with our goal of hosting the Winter Olympics, developing winter sports, and benefiting the public,” said an official from the Huairou District Tourism Commission.
Photo by Shang Weiya