Overview of Yabuli Ski Resort

Yabuli is a stunning resort. It's inland location, despite being on a latitude further south than UK, provides weather than is cold and crisp - the frequent high pressure systems give blue skies and average temperatures of minus 10C! It is in a National Park and is now the best equipped resort in China. Nestled in the Changbai Shan range (part of the Changbai mountain range) it undoubtedly scores a ten out of ten for a beautiful location

It has three excellent five star hotels, the four and three star do not have guaranteed hot water, so before skiing in this resort be aware it is a five star holiday if you are to enjoy it. It is also, despite its extensive lift system a beginners and intermediates resort.

Looking down from one of the runs at the top of sun Mountain Yabuli to the hotels at the base of the resort.

Yabuli- descending to the Athletes village base station - the grey building on the left.

Part of what is confusing to Europeans and Americans here, is that although the resort has no shortage of lifts and runs, (17 lifts in total) they are owned by four different parties - (Three 5 star hotels and the Chinese Governments Athletes station) - therefore this means four different lots of ski, boot hire, and lift passes if you were to ski all of it. None of the lift owners have made any arrangements to link in with each other - despite the fact that their lift systems already overlap and no further investment would be required to turn this into a leading, one lift pass only resort. At the moment there is little incentive to do so, until the internal Chinese market pushes this on. The three five star hotels are all on the slopes with ski and drop facilities, therefore easy access to come in, have a hot drink and warm up after a couple of runs. The teaching facilities are good for beginners and there are very few people on the slopes. In time as more Chinese people learn to ski, they will want to ski a wider area and this may encourage the lift owners to speak to each other - it will also encourage tourists to stay in the resort for longer as there will be plenty of good skiing accessed from their hotel doorstep for all levels. For now it is a resort that should be enjoyed for what it is, which is a beginners and intermediates play ground where a pleasant day or two can be spent on the slopes, enjoying the spa facilities and excellent food in the hotels. Intermediates can brush up on technique as the actual ski instruction is very good.

Snow boarders half-pipe and jumps in the distance but not accesible to the public.

A view from the top of Big Mountain, Yabuli - no skis allowed though.

A quick word for snow boarders about this resort. It is not really suitable. There is the most fabulous half-pipe which is owned by the Government and for Chinese Athletes only - as it is not accessible to you, this is immensely frustrating. The resort is not geared up for off-piste due to the climatic conditions and thin snow cover - although well groomed runs are maintained beautifully - the lack of off piste will also disappoint. (The other resort on our site called Beidahu is much more snow boarder friendly, with a small snow boarding park and better hire facilities and because of its particular location in the mountains, a better chance of deeper snow cover over January and February).

decorations for the Spring Festival on the road up to the Athletes village.

No rain here! Cheerful tissue paper is put on twigs to celebrate the Spring Festival.

Yabuli does have some fabulous looking runs, but the best are only for the Chinese Athletes 'Yabuli Resort' and not for the public. This part is owned by the Government and the best runs are exclusively for the athletes in training for various competitions - most recently the Olympics, but also the Asian Games. It is possible to go on two of these lifts in the Athletes 'Yabuli Resort', which give you one long red (intermediates) run down, but you need to pay a full day pass for this (which does include ski and boot hire), but is still for £48.00 (£480 RMB) not worth it. (That said if you are to hire a lesson and it becomes apparent that you are well up to standard, then doors may open - but this is not official.)

'Sun Mountain' is the tourists area of Yabuli and is the largest section of the resort, belonging to the five star Sun Mountain Hotel. This will give an intermediate a mornings skiing on a weekend - there are two sections to Sun Mountain - Section A is open during the week and section B is opened in addition to this at the weekend. During the week, only five short intermediates runs are open which can be skied in a couple of hours. They are, it has to be said, very well groomed pretty runs in amongst the Mongolian Oak and Birch trees - and you have them to yourself. These runs all come back to the base station on the ground floor of the Sun Mountain Hotel. Please click on resort photo's for pictures of Section A and B.

'Avunce' is a real beginners area and belongs to the five star Avunce International Convention and Exhibition Center Hotel. It has two small beginners lifts and a good base station. It is a hotel with a bit more atmosphere than the other two five star hotels. It is a short two minute vehicle ride to the 'Sun Mountain' for intermediates needing more stimulus.

'Yabuli International Broadcast Center' is the 3rd five star hotel in the resort with only one inadequate small beginners run. This is the most glitzy of Yabuli's 5 star accommodation - and the views are beautiful from it.

When Yabuli is skied as part of a winter holiday to include the snow sculptures and Ice Festival of Harbin, along with the walk over the Songhua river, stunning shopping and some time at the end in Beijing - you are hard pushed to find a weeks better winter holiday. Just don't expect to ski this resort for a full week.

Yabuli train station - you could eat your dinner off the floor!

Yabuli - looking over part of the biathalon track towards the athletes ski center with Big Mountain over to the right of the picture.

Location: Yabuli is at Shangzhi city in the Changbai Shan mountain range about 150km East of Harbin. (3 hours from Harbin by train and 2 and a half hours by car). It is in North East China, near to both the Russian and North Korean borders in Heilongjiang province.

Yabuli - at the top of the double chair - utterly stunning and very cold!

Yabuli - Big Mountain at the top of the combined chair and bubble. This leads down a gentle red run.

Lifts: There are 17 lifts in total. Starting with the Athletes 'Yabuli Resort' - there is a bubble straight up the mountain, giving access to a black run (black by European grading) but this is not accessible to tourists. A further lift system is accessible where you take the first bubble/chair (the lift rope gives you the choice - take the bubble!) - and at the top get out and ski across to a further bubble. This gets you very high up the mountain and gives access to an excellent European graded red run. Athletes can then continue further up in a two man chair - as a tourist unless you have found a very obliging ski instructor, who trusts you not to have an accident) - you will not be allowed to go up wearing your skis - however for one of the most stunning views on the planet we recommend that you do this! To ski in this part of the resort you have to buy a full day pass 480 RMB (£48.00) that gives no further access to any of the other lifts in the resort. (Although there is a run called an Alpine trail, which looks to have good potential, and was due to be prepared. If this is open when you are visiting, then the day pass becomes a bit more worth it).

The best bet though is to go to 'Sun Mountain', which is designated for tourists and has an excellent bubble lift giving access to four black runs (- having skied them they are really a European Red grading,) in Zone A. Zone B allows a further three runs and is open at the weekend, and is still accessible off this bubble, but once over in this section, there is another lift to use too. These are run by the Sun Mountain Hotel.

Then there are the lifts belonging to the other 5 star hotels. These are all beginners runs and not worth an intermediate skier getting out of bed for. For beginners they are charming - there are instructors working with each of the hotels and they do speak English. You can pop back in to warm up - there are pully lifts and baby chair lifts and the Chinese take a very precious approach to ensuring you are ok - none of he Oop La of Europe!

The figures we were given are that there are 70,000 meters of runs - this is undoubtedly correct having seen the whole resort - the pity of it is that as a tourist you do not have access to it all. Even the cross country biathalon circuit is off limits.

Altitude: The highest mountain (Big Mountain) in the resort is 1234m, (around 4050ft) so no risk of altitude sickness. The vertical drop is 700m (2300ft).

Ski season: There is snow here from October until May - the average snow period is for 170 days. Snow in China can be unpredictable and it is not for lack of cold weather! It is best to travel in China with an open mind to any changes in schedule. That said, there are excellent snow making facilities, so there will always be some runs open.

Recommended time to visit: Despite the fact that the resort is potentially open for skiing in Nov. it is better to plan for travel from mid December until mid March. To get the very best out of the North East of China, aim to travel in January and February as this enables you to include the ice festival time in Harbin in your itinerary and see the snow sculptures.

Yabuli - sun Mountain skiing down the gentle blue run.

At the top of Sun Mountain - Yabuli.

Ski standard: Beginners will love Yabuli! It is a resort set up with their every need in mind. Ski equipment is modern, comfortable and ski clothing can be hired along with skis and boots. The instruction is also good and although the temperature is colder than we are used to in Europe, there are plenty of opportunities to come inside and warm up as all three five star hotels have hire facilites and cafes at ground level, so you can simply ski up and walk in without having to carry any equipment further than five yards! Individual instruction is best as if you go in a group you might be hanging around while others are falling over! It is best to keep moving. For Intermediates, due to the limited number of runs you are allowed access to, you will have skied Sun Mountain in the morning and probably be champing at the bit! Particularly looking up at the lovely challenging runs over on Big Mountain, where the Chinese Athletes are allowed access. It is worth mentioning that the codes for the runs in Yabuli are slightly different to Europe. Black runs are the same as Europe in that they are considered the most difficult. (Although the black runs on sun mountain are basically a European red level). The Blue Runs are considered the next most difficult - which would be a European Red - but actually are quite easy and equivalent to a Blue in Europe - their red runs marked are considered the easiest for beginners.

There is very little off piste, in that there is an alpine trail that you can access from the Athletes Yabuli Resort with a day pass that really only gives you access to one pisted run. You also run the risk of disapproval as the Chinese have a very cautious attitude to tourists skiing and great concern was shown about our desire to ski the athletes slopes. There is no real comprehension of what tourists can do - you are either an athlete, or a complete novice and there is very little acceptable middle ground. Also the snow itself does not give an extensive covering. All the runs are kept in beautiful condition, and they are amongst the trees, so it is a bit like skiing in Norway - stunningly beautiful, but this is where the similarity ends, as if you do not stay on the piste, you run the risk of off suddenly scrunching on hard stones! Another hazard is the small whippy birch saplings that protrude through what little cover there is off the piste.

Ski Pass: This varies. It depends on your level and where you want to ski in this resort. With your ski pass comes the equipment. If you have your own skis and boots, you have 30% taken off your ticket cost.

If you are skiing in the Athletes Yabuli Resort on Big Mountain, then you have to get a day pass (there are no half day passes) and this is currently 480 RMB (£48.00) and includes ski-hire. You also need to leave a 500 RMB (£50.00) deposit for your ski equipment which is returned to you when you return your skis.

Yabuli - Base Station in the Athletes Village.

Yabuli - Sun Mountain five star hotel base station. This is where lift pass and equipment are collected and there is also a cafe.

For Sun Mountain it is much the same for a full day pass - again this is 480 RMB (£48.00). At the weekend it is 580 RMB (£58.00) and over public holidays it is 680 RMB (£68.00). A week is Monday - Thursday. A weekend is Friday - Sunday and public holidays are from the start of the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) for two weeks. This date, because of the lunar calender changes every year, but is around the first two weeks of February.

Sun Mountain also does a half day pass. This is 320 RMB (£32.00) during the week, 380 RMB (£38.00) at the weekends and 460 RMB (£46.00) on a public holiday. You will also need to leave a 500 RMB (£50.00) deposit while you are using the resort ski equipment - this is returned to you when you return the skis and boots.

Ski School: The cost varies with the number in the class. Budget on paying 240 RMB (£24.00) for two hours instruction on your own. If there are two of you, then it is 180 RMB (£18.00) each and this reduces per person with the number of you in a group. If you are to take four hours this is 360 RMB (£36.00) one to one, and 240 RMB (£24.00) each if you share with another person

Ski Hire:This is linked in with the ski pass. If you have your own skis there is a 30% reduction on the cost of a lift pass.

Nightlife: This is non - existant. The resort is so quiet. The plus side being that you treat it as proper R and R and if you have previously arrived up from the exciting pace of Harbin, you will be in need of it! The spa facilities and the food are excellent and considering you are in a five star hotel, extremely well priced. At festival time, around mid- February, though dependant on the lunar Chinese New Year, there are plenty of people, but this does not really impact upon you - the three and four star hotels fill up, but the five star remain relatively quiet or may be they are just better at spreading people out. For a change of scene you can book to go and have a local meal in one of the local houses, just outside the resort. This is about the same cost as a meal in a five star hotel, but it gives locals an income and as a visitor you get an authentic experience. Many of the locals are of Korean extraction as you are so close to the border with North Korea at Yabuli.

Yabuli five star Avunce Hotel. This has two beginners runs.

Yabuli - five star Sun Mountain Hotel and ski station in on the right. The lift up Sun Mountain is just out of the picture to the left.

Accommodation: This depends on your budget, but we really recommend staying in five star. The three star hotel we stayed in had no hot water which considering it is catering for a ski resort is extraordinary - especially when temperatures can drop to minus 20 very easily! The four star hotel rationed the hot water - it came on at 6.00pm in the evening and stayed on allegedly until 9.00am - but was luke warm when we tested it! Both three and four star hotels did have kettles in the room if you don't mind the lack of hot water, but need a shave! The bathrooms were not up to much either, in that they had the open shower system, where the water drains off the floor of the bathroom - leaving you with a soaking bathroom floor.

The five star hotels were all excellent - no complaints about any of them. The pool at Sun Mountain was not as good as the International Broadcast Centre - but then the rooms there are more expensive. The five star we liked the most when relating budget to comfort is the Avunce. The Sun Mountain does have the best slopes though, so although lacking the intimate feel of the Avunce, it is perhaps the most practical and you can always go out to eat in the others. Press the 'contact us' button to get a quote as the agents will get a better deal on the hotel rate, than the internet prices.

Yabuli - Spa facilities in the five star International Broadcast Center.

Yabuli - the very beautiful pool at the five star International Broadcast Center.

Food: The breakfast is included in the price of the hotel room. Lunch and dinner inside the resort will be your own choice. There are some restaurants inside the resort in the hotels. Chinese food is good! During the day at lunch time budget on spending 55 RMB (£5.50) and in the evening between 60 RMB (£6.00) and 90 RMB (£9.00) in the five star hotels. This includes soft drinks. Beer is expensive though. Depending on the brand and if it is local or imported, look to be spending between 25 RMB (£2.50) and 35 RMB (£3.50) per bottle. Whisky is dearer and can be as much as 60RMB (£6.00) a shot. Wine is a fortune! Just remember to purchase plenty of duty free on your way out! Actually you do start to feel really healthy on the Chinese diet. Although there is plenty of opportunity to buy sweet things in the stores in the cities, at the table they are not really part of the menu if you are eating with Chinese - in the 5 star hotels puddings will be on the menu but in the main the diet is much more savory based than in Europe. Please refer to the FAQ's for more information on food.

Sun Mountain showing the four black runs (European Red) and the blue run that also belongs to Zone A.

The Rock Sea at the top of Big Mountain.

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