Duolemeidi Ski Resort, Hebei, China

3Beijing_Realist 5:00 PM Mar 3, 2012

Fun the first couple of runs then gets boring
We took the ski resort shuttle bus from BJ to resort and back during the wknd (130RMB pp). Each way was approximately 4-4.5hrs (depending on traffic). There is a bathroom stop along each way for about 5-10mins. The bus was pretty packed and the seats were incredibly tight, with very little leg room for anyone over 175cm or 5'9. Upon arrival, we stayed at the onsite ski resort hotel (approx 450RMB for king size bed). Room was good sized. Bed was new and very comfortable. Room looked decently clean and even had a mini kitchen with electric stove. The only problem was the room smelled like it was recently renovated or re-painted or re-wall papered or something. The smell was pretty bad and probably toxic so we had to keep the window slightly open throughout the night. Room was also a bit on the warm side and thermostat didn't seem to work. Telephone also didn't work but we didn't bother having it fixed by hotel. We paid in cash so had to leave a deposit for our stay. At checkout, the hotel front desk handed me a 50 kaui bill (I always ask for my 50 and 100 kaui bills to pass through the money counter machine before given back to me). The 50 kaui didnt pass the machine bc it was probably a counterfeit. The front desk woman gave me an annoyed look when I asked her to pass the 50 through the machine and then looked annoyed again when it didn't pass and i asked for two 20s and a 10 instead. Lesson here? ALWAYS have your 50s and 100s passed through the money counter machines in china whenever possible (especially bc ski resorts and hotels will require hefty cash deposits). We skiied for a full day. There is only one chair lift. It seats 6 ppl and fairly fast. One of the best chair lifts I've seen in china. Not a lot of skiiers so no lines. The sole lift gets you to the top of the hill and from there you have three runs. Two are tagged as intermediate and one as advance. The advance run is only sort of advance at the last 100 meters or so. The snow quality was actually surprisingly decent considering we went during first wknd of march. It even snowed a little and the scenery along the runs was pretty charming (unlike the typical industrial and barren views on top of other ski resorts around beijing city). We had very little sun that day and with the light flurries, visibility was rather poor. Almost a white/grey-out type of situation and esp at the hill top, resulting in little visibility beyond 30 meters at times. Other than the three runs mentioned above, i think there were also 2 or so additional intermediate runs accessible by drag lifts at a near by hill top. Those runs are not as long but not having a chair lift was kind of annoying since its always nice to sit and rest your legs btw runs. Naturally, very few ppl utilize these runs and most stuck with the runs accessible by lift. The resort should really built another chair lift. Resort best suited for those with own car and intermediate level skier. Not rly worth the money and long trip if only a beginner (stick with nanshan or some other local BJ resort) or seasoned skier (beidahu or yabuli - never been to wanlong so can't comment if that's a better option). This resort is good for half or full day of skiing. Despite the actual distance btw BJ and resort being 250KM or so, It is still pretty out of the way from BJ if you do not have your own car. Expect actual travel time each way to exceed 4hrs if travelling via bus (longer if via train).

3Chase N 5:00 PM Jan 5, 2016

Awesome Board Park - Mediocre Terrain Otherwise
We spent the day rocking the two major lifts at Duoleimeidi. The skiing was what you would expect from a tiny little resort. Not much snow to ride off the groomers. A few runs through the trees. There is one semi-steep slope that would be a blue anywhere in North America; I believe they call it a double-black. The board park, however, is awesome. Three series of kickers, ranging in size. Plenty of rails to ride and all of it is well-kept by an excellent foreign crew. The lodge and rental accommodations are a total mess. If you want a bit more chill lunch experience, eat some noodles at the top lodge instead of the base.