The 2022 Beijing Winter Games have inspired a boom in construction of snow resorts; their numbers have rocketed nearly fourfold, fuelled by demand from China's swelling middle class.
A decade ago there were only just over 200 ski resorts in China -- at the end of last year, that figure had jumped to 770, according to real estate group JLL.
Nearly 21 million people visited one last year, as the ability to spend more on leisure activities grows -- average national disposable income has increased four times over the last two decades.
China has grand plans for this burgeoning interest -- it has previously said it wants to put 10% of the world's most populous nation on skis ahead of the 2022 Games.
That's a figure so large it would double the current global tally of skiers.
The upcoming Olympics might spur interest even further -- Beijing hopes its athletes will win more than five gold medals and compete in all 109 events, state news agency Xinhua reported last year.
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