LANZHOU－To the surprise of Li Zhigang, who runs a company in Baiyin, Gansu province, most of his staff chose a ski trip for their team building exercise.

"Most of the staff in my company are under 30, and they all love winter sports," said the 34-year-old Li, who took his employees to the Yellow River Stone Forest Resort.

As the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games approach, more and more young people in Northwest China have fallen in love with winter sports. Zhang Tao, 28, is a ski instructor at the Yellow River Stone Forest resort.

He has become busier this ski season as more people chose to learn the sport by hiring instructors. "I started skiing nine years ago when I was a college student in Xi'an (Shaanxi province)," said Zhang, who was born in Lanzhou, Gansu. "I became a ski instructor in Xi'an after graduation without hesitation."

After 2018, Zhang chose to go back to Baiyin and continue his career. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Yellow River Stone Forest resort suffered heavy losses last season as the resort had to shut down. According to Gou Faxia, manager of the resort, business has gone well this winter and it has received over 1,000 skiers and snowboarders every weekend this month.

"In 2019, nearly 10,000 skiers came to my resort to enjoy winter sports. After 2020, I am still confident in Northwest China's winter sports industry," said Gou, who believes the impact of the pandemic will be temporary.

"As the Beijing Olympic Games nears, the business will be better in 2021," said the optimistic Gou.

A statistic released in December by Renmin University of China shows that about 150 million people in China have participated in winter sports from 2019 to last year.

Wang Zhanzhi, a student from Baiyin No 6 Middle School, skied well at the resort. And he also taught his two friends to improve their skills.

"Last winter I learned skiing, and I love skiing," Wang said, adding that he will ask his parents to take him to watch the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Xinhua