On January 29, in summer he’s a mountain shepherd, in winter he “transforms” into a professional ski instructor—23-year-old Kazakh young man Hanatikezhan’s life is different from his parents’.
In the morning at 8:30, when the sky in Xinjiang’s winter just begins to brighten, Hanat gets up from the warm kang to have breakfast—two bowls of milk tea, a naan, and several borsoq (Kazakh pastries). After breakfast, he rides his motorcycle to the Silk Road Ski Resort, where he’s due to start work at 10.
When we met Hanat, he had just finished a lesson. He has chestnut eyes and long eyelashes, stands 1.8 meters tall, and is a handsome, shy Kazakh young man. He said, “It’s peak season now, I give lessons like this two or three times a day. I really enjoy this job—it lets me ski and also earn money to support my family.” For over four months each winter, Hanat works as a ski instructor, and Spring Festival is the busiest time.
Hanat learned to ski as a child while playing with friends. At 16, after graduating from high school, he chose to work and help support his family as soon as possible. He never expected that the skiing games from his childhood would lead him to his first job.
Skiing has a long history across northern China, mostly practiced as a popular winter pastime in the past. But now, many modern, standardized ski resorts have been built around Urumqi. Li Yang, head coach at the Silk Road Ski Resort, recalls that over 10 years ago when he first came to Xinjiang, he still saw horses used to carry ski guests up the slopes. Later they switched to motorcycles, and eventually to the cable cars used today.
After joining the ski resort, Hanat underwent professional training and obtained his ski instructor certification. His current ski resort has over 50 instructors from various ethnic groups including Hui, Mongolian, and Han. There are three other Kazakh young men like Hanat—they no longer “hibernate” in winter pastures waiting for spring like their parents did. The skis have given them more opportunities to connect with the outside world.
“I once thought about competing professionally in skiing, and even dreamed of participating in the Olympics.” Hanat knows he’s getting further from his childhood dream, but now that he’s reached his zodiac year, he has new plans.
“Last year was full of happy events for my family: my sister got engaged; we received a subsidy to buy a house right by the street, and we plan to start operating an agritainment business this year, so we won’t have to herd sheep in the mountains even in summer.” Saying this, his eyes were full of longing.
Hanat’s family lives in Shuixigou Town, Urumqi County. Known as the “back garden” of the border city, the area is scenic with clear waters and green mountains, and lies about 40 kilometers from downtown Urumqi. During holidays, leisure and vacation businesses like agritainment here are very bustling.
The person in charge of the ski resort where Hanat works told us that the natural scenery of Urumqi’s Nanshan Mountain is beautiful, and the development of tourism has brought prosperity to many herders. A new generation of herders like Hanat no longer focus mainly on farming and animal husbandry, but have shifted to tourism services. By welcoming visitors from all over, they often have broad horizons and greater dreams and aspirations.
In the new year, Hanat is also thinking about working hard to earn more money, hoping one day to buy a nice car and take his parents to see the beautiful sights all over Xinjiang. He also hopes to get married and have children soon, to make his parents happy.
In the morning at 8:30, when the sky in Xinjiang’s winter just begins to brighten, Hanat gets up from the warm kang to have breakfast—two bowls of milk tea, a naan, and several borsoq (Kazakh pastries). After breakfast, he rides his motorcycle to the Silk Road Ski Resort, where he’s due to start work at 10.
When we met Hanat, he had just finished a lesson. He has chestnut eyes and long eyelashes, stands 1.8 meters tall, and is a handsome, shy Kazakh young man. He said, “It’s peak season now, I give lessons like this two or three times a day. I really enjoy this job—it lets me ski and also earn money to support my family.” For over four months each winter, Hanat works as a ski instructor, and Spring Festival is the busiest time.
Hanat learned to ski as a child while playing with friends. At 16, after graduating from high school, he chose to work and help support his family as soon as possible. He never expected that the skiing games from his childhood would lead him to his first job.
Skiing has a long history across northern China, mostly practiced as a popular winter pastime in the past. But now, many modern, standardized ski resorts have been built around Urumqi. Li Yang, head coach at the Silk Road Ski Resort, recalls that over 10 years ago when he first came to Xinjiang, he still saw horses used to carry ski guests up the slopes. Later they switched to motorcycles, and eventually to the cable cars used today.
After joining the ski resort, Hanat underwent professional training and obtained his ski instructor certification. His current ski resort has over 50 instructors from various ethnic groups including Hui, Mongolian, and Han. There are three other Kazakh young men like Hanat—they no longer “hibernate” in winter pastures waiting for spring like their parents did. The skis have given them more opportunities to connect with the outside world.
“I once thought about competing professionally in skiing, and even dreamed of participating in the Olympics.” Hanat knows he’s getting further from his childhood dream, but now that he’s reached his zodiac year, he has new plans.
“Last year was full of happy events for my family: my sister got engaged; we received a subsidy to buy a house right by the street, and we plan to start operating an agritainment business this year, so we won’t have to herd sheep in the mountains even in summer.” Saying this, his eyes were full of longing.
Hanat’s family lives in Shuixigou Town, Urumqi County. Known as the “back garden” of the border city, the area is scenic with clear waters and green mountains, and lies about 40 kilometers from downtown Urumqi. During holidays, leisure and vacation businesses like agritainment here are very bustling.
The person in charge of the ski resort where Hanat works told us that the natural scenery of Urumqi’s Nanshan Mountain is beautiful, and the development of tourism has brought prosperity to many herders. A new generation of herders like Hanat no longer focus mainly on farming and animal husbandry, but have shifted to tourism services. By welcoming visitors from all over, they often have broad horizons and greater dreams and aspirations.
In the new year, Hanat is also thinking about working hard to earn more money, hoping one day to buy a nice car and take his parents to see the beautiful sights all over Xinjiang. He also hopes to get married and have children soon, to make his parents happy.
