On a scale from 0 to 20 (0 = the ski mound in Chaoyang park, 10 = Nanshan) JiZhou International is a 4 – if in the area it’s worth a stop

JiZhou International Ski Resort is in the scenic mountains north of JiXian(蓟县) , considered a suburb of Tianjin but actually closer to Beijing than Tianjin. From JiXian, a 20 minute taxi ride gets you to the resort. It has a good mix of runs from beginner to advanced but tends to attract a lot of neophytes touring the nearby attractions. They make you sign a release form complete with fingerprint before getting on the lift. There are very few snowboards available and don’t expect any kickers or rails. Music was mando-pop and Ace of Base sugary western pop.

JiZhou is smack in the middle of a number of tourist attractions. Visiting any one attraction takes about a half day and plan a full day to visit two. If you need to hire a driver expect to pay RMB 200 for a half day and double for a full day:

• Eastern Qing Tombs (清东陵)， RMB 120 – a 40 minute ride from JiXian, these tombs are more satisfying than the Ming Tombs but are spread over a large area so you’ll need a car. Many tombs are closed during the winter making the RMB120 ticket of questionable value; if on a budget just get the RMB 60 ticket to see the most elaborate tomb; Yu Ling, emperor QianLong. Hiring a guide is highly recommended.
• HuangYaGuan Great Wall (黄崖关长城)， RMB 50 – not far from the Qing Tombs, with both restored and un-restored sections.
• PanShan (盘山) – a 40 minute ride from JiXian, these scenic mountains are loaded with temples with the most famous being DingGuang Stupa at the peak.
• RongDong (溶洞) cave， RMB 60 – I was far more impressed with the unbroken cell coverage than any of the formations. Still, it’s only a 5 minute drive past the ski resort and the warm humidity is a nice break from outside.

Prices: Park entrance is RMB 20/person. A half-day of skiing is RMB 120 and a full day RMB 200.

Equipment: Some beat up Elan skis, as well as older non-carving skis; Rossignal, Minzuno Starlighters, limited supply of snowboards- only 30. No lines getting equipment. I had to adjust the bindings to fit the boot but the attendants can offer help if needed. Locker area had ample space. No changing rooms. Equipment is tracked with a single electronic card that can also be used for food.

Lodge: The upstairs restaurant is only for groups as the big circular tables required minimum orders of RMB 300. The downstairs buffet (RMB 38) looked appetizing but the stainless steel serving trays felt too “college cafeteria”. Outside seating area had nice wood tables but the only food available was shaGua soup that looked much better than it tasted. Notably lacking was any kind of Barbeque. Drink offerings were also sparse – various bottled drinks and naiCha from a small convenience store in the equipment building.

Hotel: Attractive individual cabins perched above the ski resort were added in 2010. The cost is a quite reasonable RMB 380/night but expect the interior style to be Chinois-norme.

Lifts/Runs:

• Two easy hills; a short 50m hill served by a cable tow and longer hill served by a magic carpet. The slow speed of the magic carpet proved a bottleneck with waits over 5 minutes even though the resort was not all that crowded.

• One intermediate hill served by a two-person lift that moved at a snail’s pace.

• One advanced hill shared the intermediate lift and was respectably steep but not especially long.

Getting there : From SiHui (subway line 1 四惠) exit A, go across the street (under the bridge) and turn left walking until you see the “inter-city” bus terminal (just past all the construction). Buy a ticket for JiXian (蓟县), RMB 30, buses leave at 15 min intervals. The bus takes 1.75 hours in good traffic. Hire a driver (30 RMB) for the 20 min ride to the resort. Expect a painful trip as the bus seems to stop for every person along the road, never goes faster than 45 mph (72km/h), the windows rattle, you want to point out the no-smoking sign to the person lighting up just below it but, well … the driver himself is smoking. If you are coming from TianJin, take the train to JiXian.

Getting back: The last official bus leaves JiXian at 5:00 but others stop on the road outside the station as late as 5:40. Expect the trip back to take much longer as you hit rush hour; seemingly along the whole route.

Night skiing: No.

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