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So first real snowstorm of the season in North China (Tianjin Beijing). Where do people practice winter sports here - like cross country and downhill skiing and outdoor skating. There must be something to do besides sitting at home or going to the godzillion malls here. After all the Winter Olympics will be here in 2022 so there must be some winter sports development.
There are some ski resorts in suburbs of Beijing. Not sure about Tianjin.
In deep winter (late Decemer ~early February) some lakes in Beijing will be open for skating, such as Kunming Lake of the Summer Palace.
Generally speaking, people in China are not as interested in winter sports as some westerners.
Chinese and Asians in general are not very "outdoorsy" / adventurous type people add this to the very polluted North East - practically the only place where there is adequate snow coverage in winter and you can see why Winter sports is not very popular in China or even Asia bar Japan for those reasons.
But Beijing is holding the 2022 winter olympics - how ironic that locals don't like to practice snow sports. There is a ski hill about 2 hours north of here that I passed (near the great wall). It was stating it lightly a "bunny" slope but packed beyond imagination.
But Beijing is holding the 2022 winter olympics - how ironic that locals don't like to practice snow sports. There is a ski hill about 2 hours north of here that I passed (near the great wall). It was stating it lightly a "bunny" slope but packed beyond imagination.
"Adventurous" Sports in general is only starting to make inroads into China/Asia. You will find very few people know how to ski recreationally, heck, swim recreationally let alone ski.
The way life is setup in China/Asia, it leaves very little time for
It's so competitive most people in Asia can't afford a lifestyle....you sell your soul to save enough to buy that car/apartment/tuition/overseas education for the child(ren), where is the time/dollars to spend on recreational activities?
Added to this there is no social welfare safety net in case you go broke and no free, decent national healthcare, you'll need to slave yourself to cover all the above.
The most likely Asians you'll ever find skiing on the hills are overseas Asians...
Winter sports infrastructure and popularity is not as good as in western countries, Russia, Japan and South Korea.
The better winter sports venues in Asia attracting international tourists are only in Japan and South Korea.
Most Chinese kids who can afford overseas education have rich parents and they don't need to save for it. Real estates in Chinese cities can be expensive for ordinary people. The reason is there are many poor people in China and they don't have the time and money to spend on recreational activities. Most of their time will be used to make money. Then there are the students who have to study all day, no time for other actitvities, if have some time, play basketball or table tennis at schools instead of taking a long trip to a place with winter sports.
Similarly in Southeast Asia, you see foreign tourists more than the locals partying and enjoying the beaches there.
You can actually purchase an insurance plan for sports activities, but usually for international trips only. I don't think it is popular or widely available insurance plans for domestic trips within China for the Mainland Chinese.
Quote:
Originally Posted by willister
"Adventurous" Sports in general is only starting to make inroads into China/Asia. You will find very few people know how to ski recreationally, heck, swim recreationally let alone ski.
The way life is setup in China/Asia, it leaves very little time for
It's so competitive most people in Asia can't afford a lifestyle....you sell your soul to save enough to buy that car/apartment/tuition/overseas education for the child(ren), where is the time/dollars to spend on recreational activities?
Added to this there is no social welfare safety net in case you go broke and no free, decent national healthcare, you'll need to slave yourself to cover all the above.
The most likely Asians you'll ever find skiing on the hills are overseas Asians...
Chinese and Asians in general are not very "outdoorsy" / adventurous type people add this to the very polluted North East - practically the only place where there is adequate snow coverage in winter and you can see why Winter sports is not very popular in China or even Asia bar Japan for those reasons.
East Asian countries were agricultural societies where motor ability was not crucial at all. For most people, the only way to climb up in the social hierarchy was to read books and perform well in the Imperial Civil Examination. Sports were not promoted, and it could not even help much in "getting girls" because Chinese people did not date.
In western culture, athletic men have a much higher status.
I can second that, I teach at a school here and kids' hobbies are studying for SATs and TOEFL for fun. Basketball seems to be the one sport that kids are interested in but not much else. Harbin seemed to be the place for winter activities - I went this January to see Ice Fest and had never been so cold in my life!
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