China's domestic snowmakers rise from scratch

On Feb. 24, ski enthusiasts were still sliding down the slopes at Qiyue Mountain International Ski Resort in Lichuan, central China's Hubei Province, despite a slight rise in temperature. Lined up neatly on several newly opened runs nearby were 17 fully automated snowmaking machines.

"In the past, we only had semi-automatic snowmaking machines, which needed workers on rotating shifts to manually adjust settings and monitor snow quality," said Li Jie, the resort's technical engineer. "It was a real drain on manpower."

"With these fully automated units, we set the parameters in the system, and it handles everything automatically, including temperature, wind direction and snow output. Workers simply monitor the equipment from a control console. The snow quality is better, efficiency is higher, and the visitor experience has improved significantly," Li said.

Snowmaking machines developed by Zhangjiakou Carving Ski Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. are showcased at the World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo 2024. (cnr.cn/courtesy of the interviewee)

The snowmaking machines were developed by Zhangjiakou Carving Ski Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in north China's Hebei Province. When the model made its debut at the World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo in 2024, Qiyue Mountain International Ski Resort placed an order on the spot.

"Domestically made snowmaking machines suit our operational needs better. The quality is good, and the price is lower," said Li, whose resort already runs more than 30 semi-automatic machines also made by Zhangjiakou Carving Ski Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Two years of hands-on experience with those machines gave him every reason to be confident.

The journey to this point has been a long one. When winter sports first began to develop in China over a decade ago, high-end equipment was almost entirely imported from abroad.

Zhang Hongjun is the founder of Beijing Carving Ski Sports Development Corp. (Carving) and head of Zhangjiakou Carving Ski Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. He recalled that while still in the equipment trading business, an international brand abruptly pulled out of a contract without cause. The experience set him firmly on the path toward developing the company's own proprietary technology.

Carving launched its first manual snowmaking machine in 2016, matching the performance of leading foreign brands at two-thirds of the price. A semi-automatic model that followed soon after also attracted considerable market attention.

The successful bid to host the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics proved to be a turning point for the industry. The supply chain in Hebei grew stronger, policy support became more favorable, and nine internationally rated ski resorts were built in Chongli district, Zhangjiakou.

In 2018, Beijing Carving Ski Sports Development Corp. moved its equipment manufacturing operations to the Xuanhua Ice and Snow Equipment Industrial Park, establishing Zhangjiakou Carving Ski Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Four years later, as ski resorts expanded rapidly across the country and demand for automation grew, Zhang set his sights on developing a fully automated snowmaker — and ultimately succeeded.

Beyond snowmaking machines, Carving also manufactures snow groomers and magic carpet lifts. With the ice and snow consumer market expanding rapidly in southern China, Zhang sees strong growth ahead.

"Our products are now used all across the country, helping drive the boom in winter sports," he said. Over the past decade, his companies' products have been granted more than 50 national patents.

"We want our independently developed products to go global," Zhang said. "Some of our snowmakers are already being sold in Russia, and we will keep pushing into international markets."