It'S NO WHISTLER BUT!

Whistler, it's not but look out! Billed as the largest operating ski hill in China, Yabuli has some growing to do to become a destination resort. But from what I saw, it has begun the process. If I was to look for a comparable, Yabuli is somewhere between Apex and Silver Star for size and terrain. Skiing is in it's infancy in China with all of it located in North East China. You won't find a lot of skiing in tropical climates. Yabuli is home for the Chinese National Downhill Ski team. They have their own mountain to train on but I understand that will not be for much longer as the rush is on to open more ski terrain for the public.


My trip started out early Saturday morning with a taxi ride to the train station. Thanks to Branson, who lent me his China Telecom VIP card, I was able use the VIP boarding area which is a whole lot nicer than lining up with the 1,000 others waiting to board the train. Once on the train, I was introduced to Train Seat Roulette. I arrive to my allotted train seat only to find it occupied. Some conversation ensued and it did not take me long to realize that he wanted to trade seats with me so he could sit with his friends. His seat was located in the next car, so unsure I agreed to the swap and he walked me to the new seat only to find his seat occupied. More conversation and I was directed to another seat in the same car. Also occupied. But this time, I had had enough and stood my ground. More conversation, some grumbling and I got the seat. I experienced the same scenario on the return trip, but chose not to play and took the seat which I was assigned. I eventually was joined by a fun group of teachers from a vocational college in Harbin, one of who spoke English and so was I able to practise my limited Chinese and she was able to practise her English. We chatted and laughed all the way back to Harbin.

The Chinese Government along with the private sector have been pouring some serious money into the Yabuli in the last few years. They have built a brand new spur from the main line into Yabuli as well as a shiny new railway station. There is a special ski train that leaves from Harbin in the morning and returns in the late afternoon. They have also built a high speed road into Yabuli for those wishing to drive there.

Arriving in Yabuli, I was greeted by a boisterous group of entrepreneurs all wanting me to stay with them. Quite a few Bu Yao's (DON'T WANT) later I got out to the parking lot where I was approached by another group all wanting to drive me into Yabuli. I picked the one who had the best English. He said in very good and clear English "Hello. Welcome to Yabuli. I would be happy to take you anywhere you would like to go. I have some very nice places to stay.". Hearing that I jumped into his minivan and said I would like a quick tour around the resort, and how much would he charge. I quickly discovered that he had spent some time memorizing that phrase along with a dozen or more words of English and absolutely nothing else. Crap. Using my translator and a map I had downloaded from the web I was able to get him to provide me with a tour of the resort along with a fixed price 30 RmB for his services. Despite his lack of English, he was quite a salesman and was very adept at taking me into different lodging places despite my telling him at least a dozen times that I already had a place to stay. But I did get a nice tour of the resort and eventually to my hotel which I had found on line and booked by telephone.

The hotel was a find. I stumbled across the web site quite by accident. The hotel(s), actually their are three separate buildings on the site were built by Melco China Resorts. The company is listed on the TSX and operates a number of resorts around China and Asia. They opened as the host hotel for the University World Games that were held at the end of February. I was to be their first foreign English paying guest. They had the Canadian ski team stay there during the games but they did not pay for any of the rooms. Their website is one of the best I have run across in China. http://sunmountainyabuli.com/en/ InterWest a large resort company that runs a number of ski resorts around the world have been providing Melco with some assistance and they were responsible for the website. I met two of the consultants from Interwest at the hotel. Both Australians. One had spent some time in the Okanagan so we compared notes. Melco has opened up a whole new ski hill separate from the main hill complete with a 6 passenger gondola lift and about a dozen new runs. I skied all of them and found them to be beginner to high intermediate. Not a lot of vertical but with a comfortable and warm gondola ride back up the mountain it was not a huge hardship. Gave my legs time to recover.

The hotel(s) is/are works in progress. There is still few construction deficiencies to be completed. I was invited to try out the pool only to find it with a healthy algae bloom. Gave my translator a workout trying to explain algaecide. They were very strict about maintaining the chlorine residuals but did not understand algae. I later met the Resort General Manager who spoke perfect English and was able to explain what they had to do. Needless to say, I passed on the pool and hot tub but took advantage of a massage in the spa which was included in the hotel package that I had booked. Room for one night, breakfast, spa and all day sking for 1580 RmB. ($280 CAD) The hotel is billed as a five star resort. Chinese five star that is! I spent the rest of Saturday exploring the area around the hotel(s) and enjoying the king size bed (soft), 36" plasma screen TV with HBO and Cinemax, plush robe and slippers. Enjoyed a couple of expensive drinks in the bar where I gave an impromptu English lesson to the bar staff. From there I moved to the Dinning Room (Inside Joke for Nonie) where I enjoyed some delicious Chinese food. I was joined for dessert by two people whom I had met earlier in the day. One was from Shanghai and the other from Beijing. They are the new Chinese middle class. They have good jobs, a little money to spend and are looking to try new experiences. Neither had skiied before but both enjoyed it and intend on coming back. I told them about Penticton and being able to ski in the morning and golf in the afternoon. They were suitably impressed so we exchanged email addresses and I would not be surprised that we might hear from them.

Next morning I awoke to a blizzard of new snow. It had already accumulated about 3" and it continued to snow throughout the morning. The snow was light and dry; perfect powder. At the breakfast buffet, I joined a nice Chinese couple with a young five year old boy I had briefly talked to in the dining room the night before. They were from Shanghai. He was a business man and spoke perfect English. His wife was an English teacher but surprisingly the son spoke zero English. He could however ski like a little demon. The father had spent some time in Canada and learned to ski while he was there. He has been teaching his son for several years. I joined them for a few trips down the mountain but my legs were not up to theirs and I quickly excused myself.

Breakfast over, I headed to the ski rental shop. Not much in the way of English but it was set up like any rental shop so I tried to smile and gesture my way through the process. After a number of false starts they called up to the hotel and had them send down an English speaker to guide me through the process. It was all about the rental forms, copies of the form, deposits and would I like to by some insurance. Typical Chinese bureaucracy and salesmanship. My English guide was one of the kids from the bar whom I had given the English lesson to. The clothing and equipment were all brand new or a least used very little and well maintained. By 9:00 I was ready to venture out into the blizzard and on to the shiny red 6 passenger gondola.. I was joined by three older Chinese men all about my age who had followed me out of the lodge. They had a little English and offered to show me the around the hill so I joined them for a few runs. It continued to snow heavily and by 12:00 I was toast and headed back to my room. A long soak in the bathtub and I was ready to face the trip back home. While enjoying a drink in the bar and once again giving a English lesson, I was joined by Ester Ng and Christine. Ester is a Canadian of Chinese descent, living in HongKong and working as a free lance lifestyles writer. Christine was the manager of PR for the hotel. Ester was doing an article for the newly opened resort. They offered me a ride back to the train station. The highway into Yabuli had been closed by the snow so they were returning to Harbin by the afternoon train so Ester could catch her flight out in the evening.

My first solo experience in China was a success but I can't call booking into a five star hotel adventurous. I will return with Nonie if we get the chance.