Yue Zhiyun, a farmer in a remote village of Zhangjiakou in northern China left home more than a decade ago to find work. At first, he struggled and was earning less than 9,000 yuan ($1,460) a year, barely enough to support his family.

Times changed, and with nine people working in his hotel, his annual income has increased a cool fiftyfold.

His route to prosperity? Well, in a way you could say it's been downhill. Yue has been able to take advantage of a surge in the popularity of skiing, and Beijing's bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games has also greatly helped.

Chongli county, in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, about 220 km northwest of Beijing, has developed into a popular ski resort in recent years. During Spring Festival it receives more than 400,000 visitors, many of them from the capital.

The Wanlong Ski Resort, a potential competition venue for the Winter Olympics, has seen the number of visitors increase by 20 percent in the last "snow season" from November to April.

Yue now lives in Huangtuzui village near the ski resort. In 2004, on meager savings he had managed to put aside, he built a small lodge in the style of a farmhouse.

Ten years later he redecorated and expanded the rooms from six to 37, the largest of the 37 "home stays" in the village.

"We have full occupancy on the weekends especially after the bid last year," Yue, 54, said. "We also see more visitors during the weekdays."

Xie Liang, the village head, agrees that times have changed for the better.

"Because of the growing interest in skiing and the publicity over the bid, our village has seen a flood of visitors who have been willing to spend money."

Average monthly incomes rose to 7,880 yuan in 2013 from less than 1,000 yuan in 2003.

In addition, the bid for the Olympics has helped the ski resorts attract global publicity.

Miao Jun, vice-president of Genting Resort Secret Garden, another potential venue, said: "We have gained fantastic publicity in other countries through cooperation with a world-famous ski resort in Laax, Switzerland."

He said more than 10 embassies wanted to hold snow and ski events in the coming winter.

The resort has 30 ski runs, will soon have 80, and 10,000 rooms will be available after the development plan is completed, he said.

"We started construction in 1999 and plan to invest about 18 billion yuan," he said.

Zhangjiakou's bid office director Zhang Chunsheng said that with growing benefits for companies and residents in Chongli, more will be attracted to the area.

"The bidding for Winter Olympics requires us to upgrade the economic structure, making it green and efficient," he said.

"Besides, it presents us with a chance to boost the coordinated development between Zhangjiakou and Beijing."

Two other cities, Oslo and Almaty, are also in the running to host the 2022 Winter Games. The decision will be made in July 2015.

zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/20/2014 page4)