For some time I had been looking for a place to go snowboarding close to Hong Kong. While Japan and Korea were options, I figured there must be somewhere closer and cheaper to explore. China has some big-ass mountains, so why wouldn’t they have ski resorts? After doing some research I discovered that there were several ski fields in Sichuan a province central, southern China.

Panorama from the Heming Holiday Hotel over the Tea House towards the Taiziling entrance, canteen and carpark – in the distance slightly left of centre.

Finding information on these resorts in English was not easy, but I was able to garner from several forum posts that of the ski fields around Chengdu (Xiling, Emei, and Taiziling) that Prince Ridge was the best. Apparently Taiziling means Prince Ridge in Chinese, which makes sense. You can read other people’s opinions of the various ski resorts around Chengdu here.

Getting to Mt Jiuding Shan

Prince Ridge is around 3 hours drive north of Chengdu. To get there you need to take a bus toward Maoxian. We got the bus from Chadianzi Bus Station from where buses appeared to leave for Maoxian every hour and a half starting at 6 a.m. Even though stayed close to Chadianzi and got up at 5 a.m., we only made the 7.30 a.m. bus because our taxi driver got Chadianzi Bus Station mixed up with another one, which was party out fault for not being better prepared (or knowing how to speak Mandarin).

Here is the address of Chadianzi:

China, Sichuan, Chengdu, Jinniu, Side Rd of W. 3rd Ring Rd 5th Section, 三环北路羊犀立交桥

If you’re planning on taking this bus and won’t have a working mobile phone in China it may be a good idea to screenshot this from your phone now. The bus ticket cost 83RMB.

After about two and a half hours we got off the bus at a petrol station by the highway, at the bottom of Jiuding Shan. This petrol station is approximately half way between Wenchuan and Maoxian on the map, close to Nanxinzhen. The bus driver and ticket lady on the bus didn’t speak any English but understood when we said we wanted to go to Jiuding Shan. We were fortunate to meet some local girls on the bus who were also heading to the mountain that day, one of whom could speak English fairly well. With our new guides to explain things to us, it was much easier to work out what was going on as we headed up the mountain.

From the Base to the Top of the Mountain

At the petrol station where the bus stops a man with a mini-van who offered to take us to the top of the mountain for 40RMB each. He appeared to be waiting for the bus to arrive so I expect that if you arrive in the morning it shouldn’t be hard for you to get a lift up the hill. If not, you can always give the “taxi” company a call on 1528 1522 541, but you will need to get someone who speaks at least a little bit of Mandarin to communicate with them.

Our 7-seater minivan was filled with 11 people, so the half hour drive up to the top of Jiuding Shan was not the most comfortable. About 3/4 of the way up we had to stop to by a pass to access the mountain which cost us 70RMB each. If you could produce a student card they would give you the pass for 35RMB and locals only pay 50RMB. Nobody there really knows English very well, so you could probably even show a driver’s license and say that you’re a student if you look young enough to be one – but you didn’t hear that from me.

After paying the entry fee it’s about 10 more minutes until you reach the resort. The car park/drop off point is located down the bottom section of the resort, so if you’re staying at the resort on the mountain it’s a 100 meter hike up to the hotel. There is a magic carpet chairlift you can use to get up to the hotel, but if there are already lots of learners skiing in that area they won’t let you take your luggage on there. There is a driveway to access the hotel front directly, but for some reason we weren’t allowed to drive up there (possibly because our driver has chosen not to fit chains).

Prince Ridge Ski Resort

Taiziling Ski Resort has been built to target the Chinese market, with tons of space for those new to the sport. Because skiing and snowboarding are fairly new concepts in China, there are not a lot people who can handle advanced slopes there yet. I couldn’t find a trail map of Mt Jiuding Shan online, but to the right is a picture from a brochure I picked up at the hotel.

The green and blue areas are for beginners and “intermediate” riders, as per other resorts around the world. The reason I put intermediate in brackets however is because those ares would be considered green runs anywhere else with completely flat gentle slopes on groomed runs. The yellow lines alongside the blue and green runs are magic carpet “chairlifts” to take people to the top. No need to worry about falling off T-bars here!

The orange dots signify the only chairlift at the resort which goes all the way up Jiuding Shan. From the top the black lines show the various trails down, although there are plenty of opportunities for off-piste skiing and snowboarding as well. These “black” runs would be considered blue at other resorts not in China.

The building just below the blue runs is the Heming Holiday Hotel which is built above and alongside a large restaurants, cafeteria, ski-shop and canteen. There are also lockers for hire here although I really didn’t feel like security was an issue here and wouldn’t be worried about leaving my gear alone anywhere around the resort all day.

At the bottom of the map under the green runs is another building and indoor area. I didn’t go inside there but there was seating and tables outside so I assume there was another canteen there, and probably another ski-shop/lift ticket area too.

Lift Ticket Prices

A lift ticket for a day cost 248RMB if you book online in advance. We had the help of our new friend Haku who we met on the bus who was able to book on her mobile while we were at the ticket booth. On the second day after the girls had left I paid 340RMB for a day pass as I didn’t have internet access. Even if I did, as I’m not able to read Chinese I wouldn’t have been able to navigate the Taiziling website.

A deposit of 800RMB needs to be made each day to cover ski/snowboard rental. The cost of the lift ticket comes out of this money and the remainder is returned after you return the hired gear. That’s right, ski/snowboard rental is included in the price of your lift ticket!

A fee of 20RMB is charged for helmet hire, and helmets are mandatory if you want to ride the main chairlift (which is strange in a country where nobody even cares about wearing seat-belts in cars). I tried to use the lift multiple times without a helmet but was always told (in broken English and body language) that I needed one to ride the chair, although at certain times nobody was even manning the chairlift and at the end of the day nobody seemed to care that I had removed my helmet and was riding with just my beanie on.

Ski and Snowboard Rental

The ski-shop under the hotel has plenty of skis, boots, helmets and snowboards for hire. All the gear was quite new and in decent condition since the resort only opened in late 2013. The staff working behind the counter seemed quite competent too and were helpful in helping me adjust my bindings and find the perfect sized boots.

Locker hire is 50RMB for the day, but as I mentioned previously this is probably an unnecessary expense unless you bring your own expensive board or have cash or other valuables you need to store safely.

Heming Holiday Hotel

Most of the staff at the hotel on the mountain did not speak any English at all, however there was one staff member at hotel reception, Elaine, who knew the basics and was extremely helpful. When we were leaving the mountain she even found us a lift to take us back to Chengdu so we didn’t need to take the taxi down the mountain and then bus it back.

Hotel rates vary from 228RMB upwards depending on the type of room and time of week and time of the season. We booked a Tatame Japanese style room which cost just under 580RMB for the night, which was the cheapest option available on a Friday night mid-season.

I had read online that it would be wise to book before arriving at the hotel, however I was unable to get through to anyone on the phone numbers listed on the website. Elaine assured me that phones were always answered though, so perhaps I was doing something wrong with the country code when calling via Skype. Every time I tried the phones were either busy or just rang out, regardless of what time of day I called.

If you want to stay here and know how to read Chinese, it would be wise to book online before arrival. The rooms were clean and fairly nice, although they lacked a bit of finesse that you would find in a similar style resort in Europe or North America. For example there was some paint on our shower that should have been cleaned off after the painters finished their work, but nobody bothered to do so, and there was a noticeable section of mold on some of the tiles in there as well.

On a positive note, the heating in the rooms was great, the water was hot (which is a necessity in such a place), and the staff we’re all helpful and friendly. The opportunity to stay on the mountain was well worth the money paid, and when I go back to Jiuding Shan, which I intend to do (hopefully this year!) I will definitely stay at the Heming again.

The Snow

I had heard only read bad things about Chinese ski resorts online before I came to Prince Ridge, but I was honestly quite surprised at the quality and depth of the snow at Taiziling. There was quite a lot of snowfall in the time when I was there (week of January 18th, 2016) and the conditions were also perfect for snow-making. It was beautiful weather on the day we had to leave, and I was sad to say goodbye. Even with only limited runs for more advanced skiers and boarders, Taiziling had more than enough for me to get a quick fix of boarding in without having to fly too far or spend too much.

While you can’t compare this or any other Chinese resort to those in Europe or North America, if you’re in the region and looking for some fun in the snow, or just want a weekend or short ski holiday in Asia, consider stopping by. The week I was here was unseasonably cold all throughout Asia, with snow falling in coastal regions of Southern China and falling below 10 degrees Celsius in parts of Thailand, so perhaps I was lucky and snow isn’t usually this good, but right now it’s better than enough to keep me happy and I’m already planning a trip back before the end of the season in March.