Yabuli Ski Resort, Heilongjiang, China

3Beijing_Realist 5:00 PM Dec 28, 2011

Decent slopes but sketchy pricing and DO NOT stay at sun mountain top cabin
SUN MOUNTAIN SLOPES - overall, the design of the slopes were decent and runs were relatively fun. very few ppl ski the black or advance runs. I went in late december and there were only one blue or intermediate run from mountain top to base. No green or easy runs from mountain top. True beginners are only able to ski from mid-way to base which is relatively short and can be finished in less than 5-10 mins depending on how much of a beginner. Unless, you are advance-intermediate or expert, chances are you will get bored after a few runs bc of the lack of variety. In conclusion, intermediate and up skiiers will gain more value relative to true beginners. Also, primarily man made snow and day time high of minus 15-20 Celisus, meaning snow is very pack and icy at parts. not the safest conditions for skiing (an inherently dangerous sport). I would not recommend that beginner-beginners ski here bc of 1. lack of variety for beginners, 2 icy conditions which means more probability of falling and likelihood to hurt self once fallen and 3. price. Now moving on lodging. LODGING - I skiied at the SUN MOUNTAIN slopes. This mountain has at least three hotels onsite. One of which is located on top of the mountain called SUN MOUNTAIN LODGE or something. DO NOT STAY THERE. It is pricey, you are basically trapped up the mountain once the gondola closes (at 4PM) or worse... if there are strong winds, gondola will get shut down and you will be stuck up there, paying riduculous amount of money for lodging and food and NO skiing and NO refund. Also, the hot water doesn't run consistently and carpet looks 20 years old and room smells like rotten furniture. And no, you cannot open ANY windows for fresh air. If you want to try sun mountain, I would recommend (if you have money and want "luxury") staying at the club med or the other hotel at the base of the mountain to the left of the gondola which I hear is considerably cheaper than club med and mountain top lodge and decent. PRICING - The oddest part that struck me about this resort is the inconsistent pricing for ski pass/rental/lessons. It seems that as everything else in China, your ski pass, rentals and lessons are negotiable depending on which "company" you buy through. This resort is NOT operated under ONE management but seems that multiple businesses co-share and co-operate. This is not good for the consumer. It comes off as shady and you get the feeling that someone else is getting a much better deal than you. And then you learn that indeed someone else has. I dont exactly know how to best advise first time visitors from getting around this problem but recommend that you ask around for lift ticket prices (DO NOT TAKE THE WORD OF YOUR HOST AT YOUR HOTEL - they may be quoting you a more expensive price than someone else) and do not just take the listed price on the wall at their face value onsite. ASK AROUND for the lowest price. OVERALL IMPRESSIONS - decent slope designs. getting there is not that convenient. must take a three hr train (which seems to travel at 30mph on average) from Harbin. hotel prices are ludicrious for quality. Altho the slopes are decent, its advertised as the BEST ski resort in china. This place sells by that bragging right alone but reality is this resort is on par with so-so ski resorts in the west. part of the problem is snow quality. its wicked cold and snow was mainly man made in december. perhaps snow is best in late feb or early march when temp is higher and snow natural. minus 20 is just too cold for skiing. With that said, yabuli is still worth a try. but be prepare to get ripped off. well, for the latter, you need to be prepare for that anywhere in china.

3Aprila070 5:00 PM Mar 9, 2011

March is the time to visit
I have to confess that i was eager to be th first Australian racing down the Chinese slopes with a wonderful war cry of 'we have found the next niseko!'....... Niseko it is not. Yabuli is 3 hours from Harbin, which for us was a days travel from Beijing after a mid morning flight, a train ride and then an extended taxi ride. I do not recommend trying this if you don't speak Chinese! I know two words, my Australian friend knew three or four....they were not helpful words... On our arrival the temp was great for snowboarding, around the -5 degrees. It snowed on our second or third day there, but this was only the fifth (yes I mean as in 5) time that it had snowed since November. There is a lot of man-made snow and the runs that were open were a mix of groomed and ungroomed. My friend and I are high intermediate snowboarders, the intermediate run was way to easy for us, and one of the black runs was not tried as it looked a bit rough and was patchy in places. The 4 runs we did use were fantastic in the mornings and not bad in the afternoons. The heated gondola is a treat, but there is only 1! It goes from base to peak (ski school/club med) I feel the beginners slopes were excellent and for anyone wanting to learn to ski or board there is ample room, long long magic carpets and good equipment ($50 per day). Lessons are free when you stay at club med, but 99.9% Chinese.... Ok for the kids to learn, but you might need to find a friend or chat to the club med staff if you don't speak Chinese... I have been told that next season this matter will be addressed and they intend to put on English speaking instructors. I was warned about the extreme cold, but we had lovely sunny days six out of seven. The wind did get a bit chilly so you need to dress warmly. Yabuli can't be compared with the slopes of niseko which has acres an acres of ski fields, many many lifts and 3 mountains on one lift pass... If you are in china in march, or live in china..work in hk a club med visit with the kids to teach them to ski would be well worth the time.. Personally I only had a good time because of my great travel partner and the staff at club med... The snow didn't really do it for me, but I guess after niseko, Switzerland and nz perhaps i need to lower my standards a bit :)