On a scale from 0 to 20 (0 = the ski mound in Chaoyang park, 10 = Nanshan) BeiDaHu is a 17 – awesome scenery and slopes if you can take the cold

BeiDaHu (北大湖) is one of China’s best resorts and hosted the Asian Winter Games in 2007. The scenery is spectacular and forget seeing the ice-rimmed trees in JiLin you can catch them here as well. They have a 6-person Doppelmayr gondola going to the right peak and a Doppelmayr detachable quad serving the snowboard park which had a nice half pipe followed by a good selection of kickers, rails and boxes. To get all the way to the top of the left peak, Mt. NanLou at 1408m, you have to change to a regular-speed double lift. From here you can go down a groomed trail on the left or veer right for an ungroomed trail where I found virgin powder. In a few sections the snow was not quite deep enough and I heard the unpleasant sound of rock scraping skis. I thought I just lost my deposit but they said nothing when I turned them in.

The right peak has the majority of the trails but if you are skiing near winter solstice, the day is very short and these runs go into shadow at 2:00 and they close the gondola at 3:00 (on a Jan 1 visit). It is best to lodge on-site and hit the trials first thing in the morning. Bring both tinted and untinted goggles. The cold requires a face mask which covers every inch of your face. My double-lense goggles were icing up on every run so I was thankful for the hair dryers they had at most of the lift stations.

There is a shuttle bus service to JiLin but the last bus leaves at 2:30p.m. Since they close at 4:30p.m. a shuttle bus at say 5:00p.m. would seem logical and convenient. I tried explaining this to the staff at the desk but just got blank stares.

Prices: Park entrance is 20 RMB. Rental with lift ticket is RMB360/4 hours or RMB400/day on the weekend. Substantial increases on holidays.

Equipment: Rossignol and Salomon in almost new condition. I found my Lange boots a bit hard but always bring shoe inserts just for such occasions. Decent selection of snowboards. There were no lines getting equipment. The lockers were a bit flimsy and all the warning signs “not responsible for theft” didn’t exactly give one peace of mind. They have a ski tuning/ waxing station. Equipment is tracked with a single plastic card that also functions as your electronic lift ticket. You swipe this card at the turnstile entrance to the lifts. It is decidedly inconvenient to dig out this card in cold weather so you should have a jacket with a built-in card holder on the sleeve or a glove with card-holder on the back of the hand.

Lodge: The multi-story lodge has an evening dining restaurant on the 2nd floor which had a lot of heavy DongBei food as well as spicy SiChuan food. For something light on the grease, try the hot and sour soup. A restaurant on the 1st floor served the RMB38 noon buffet – not bad but limited selection and only apple juice for drinks. Right in the equipment area, with nice views of the slope, is seating for a drink&snack bar where you won’t find hot chocolate but you can get coffee or tea. Columbia, Northland, and Snow Favor stores are right in the lodge should you need to purchase any gear.

Hotel: The 4-star hotel is part of the lodge but with prices starting at 900 RMB/night it is not cheap. Make reservations in advance because they do book up. Just past the gate you can find budget lodging options- albeit very rustic - I did not check any of them out.

Lifts/Runs:

• The brochure lists 13 ski trails and 8 lifts, the primary lift being a 6-person gondola with one stop mid-mountain. There are two main peaks each with groomed and ungroomed trails. Since few people go here, your chances of finding powder are high. If you go early in the season some trails may be closed due to insufficient snow fall so it is best to call for confirmation.
  

Getting there:
BeiDaHu is nearest to JiLin(吉林) but ChangChun(长春) has more transport options. You can get a soft sleeper from Beijing to ChangChun ( RMB350 arriving in ChangChun at 6:30am) or fly for as little as RMB 480. Then go to the bus station a short walk south of the train station (there is also one near the airport) and get a bus that goes on the highway (高速路) for around RMB 35. These buses leave almost every 15 minutes and the drive takes just under 2 hours. In JiLin, hire a driver for the final 1.5 hour drive for RMB 150 or take a taxi.

BeiDaHu runs a shuttle bus to and from the JiLin bus station. The bus leaves JiLin ChaLuXiang station at 6:50, 12:20 and 3:10.

Getting back: The JiLin long distance but station may have buses after 5pm but on my holiday trip, they definitely did not. I had to hire a car from BeiDaHu to ChangChun for RMB600; ouch. If you get lucky, you may find a taxi waiting at the BeiDaHu gate but not seeing any I called the driver who drove me down. He wanted me to cover his empty trip down from Jilin as well as back (300RMB) then it was 200RMB to ChangChun plus a highway toll of 100RMB. No doubt he overcharged me but I was in the weak bargaining position; try to negotiate everything for the return trip when you are dropped off.

The BeiDaHu to JiLin shuttle bus runs at 6:30, 9:00 and 2:30.

Return flights from ChangChun to Beijing are always more expensive then outgoing flights, around RMB 680.

Night skiing: No.

In the Area: In ChangChun, the JingYueTan Park (accessible by light rail or a 50 minute taxi ride from the train station) hosts the yearly Vasaloppet race and may have cross-country skiing throughout the winter. The International Exhibition Center Hotel is very close to this park (light rail stop WeiZhanZhongXin phone 0431 8460-6688).

Harbin is a 4 hour train ride away with its famous ice sculptures and skiing at Sun Mountain YaBuLi.

ChangBaiShan, straddling the North Korean border, offers wild winter vistas that rival BeiDaHu and skiing on some of the best powder you’ll find in China. The resort itself is not of the same caliber as BeiDaHu and the place is not easy to get to.