On February 20, the highest temperature in Taiyuan reached 7 degrees Celsius, and it is expected to continue rising in the coming days. Snow at several ski resorts in the provincial capital has already begun to slowly melt. It is understood that ski resorts across Shanxi Province will gradually cease operations starting next week.
The person in charge of the Jinzhong Nanshan Ski Resort stated that under the current temperatures, the snow at the resort has started to melt, making snowmaking more difficult, and they expect to close at the beginning of March. Staff at the Jiulong Ski Resort mentioned that generally, the resort closes around March 1 or 2 each year, and advised those planning to ski to come as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the Xiling International Ski Resort and the Wulong Ski Resort will also gradually shut down starting next week. The Xiangfen Dongling Ecological Ski Resort in Linfen City will cease operations after the Lantern Festival. "Most major ski resorts in Shanxi Province have either already closed or are about to close, and with the significant decline in snow quality, many skiing enthusiasts have driven to places like Miyun and Changping in Beijing, or Wanlong in Hebei, to catch their last few runs," said a staff member at a travel agency on Bingzhou Road. Currently, there are also quite a few group tours heading to Beijing for skiing, and in addition to skiing, activities such as spring fruit picking have been added.
It is understood that major ski resorts in Shanxi Province operated continuously from New Year’s Eve to the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, offering activities such as skiing, agritainment, and ice-and-snow-themed paintball. Data shows that during the Spring Festival golden week alone, ski resorts around Taiyuan and Jinzhong received over 30,000 visitors, doubling compared to the previous year, with revenues exceeding 5 million yuan, nearly tripling year-on-year. The head of the Wulong Ski Resort revealed that the resort’s turnover in 2012 remained roughly the same as the previous year. In order to attract customers, prices were not raised during the Spring Festival as they had been in previous years. For mid-to-low-end ski resorts like theirs, the intensifying market competition is very apparent, and revenue by the time of closing showed only a "slight increase." "Ski resorts are also facing the need to transform. This winter of 2013, we will innovate based on consumer demand, using fresh and novel activities to attract visitors."