Ski instructors at Three Bears Ski Resort teach people how to ski. [Photo by Huang Qiqing/icswb.com]

As the Winter Olympic Games in China draw near, a skiing craze has swept the country. Residents of Changsha are receiving opportunities to experience exciting ice and snow sports due to the "moving ice sports from north to south" strategy.

Three Bears Ice & Snow Kingdom, a ski resort in Changsha county, has received a large number of ski fanatics since the beginning of summer. More than 60 ski instructors have been going to and from the ski field between -4 C and 35 C every day to help tourists handle equipment and teach them how to ski.

Wang Lei, owner of the Three Bears Ski Resort, said that in order to meet the demands of tourists, ski instructors are on duty all day from 9 am to 10 pm, receiving more than 3 groups of tourists each.

Most of the ski instructors come from cold places in Northern China, such as Heilongjiang province, Liaoning province, and Jilin province, where everybody knows how to ski. However, they must also have a certain moral quality, cultural quality, teaching ability, and service consciousness.

The ski resort also held an open course for students and ice lovers to learn more about ice and snow, as well as the upcoming Winter Olympics. Xing Li, a Changsha ski instructor of four years, hopes that his work will help promote ice and snow sports.