China skis: Olympics brings on boom in winter sports

A skier gestures to others, one wearing a suit with the characters reading "China", on the slope of the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Visitors take to the slopes of the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort near the logo for the Beijing Winter Olympics in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

School children warm up before ski lessons at the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

School children warm up before ski lessons at the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

School children wait in line to go onto the slope with ski instructors at the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A ski instructor points with a pole with school children taking ski lessons at the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A child practices ice hockey near the Beijing Olympics Tower in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

School children warm up before taking ski lessons at the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Farmer-turned-ski coach Li Wei looks as ski enthusiasts take to the slope at the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A barista prepares coffee at a cafe dubbed the "Winter Olympic Home" in Houheilong Miao, a village in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The village has a view of the Olympics skiing venue in the distance. Its 20 mostly vacant traditional courtyard houses have been turned into lodgings and a cafe dubbed the "Winter Olympic Home." (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

School children play near a long line up to the bunny slope at the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

School children wait to practice skiing on the bunny slope at the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Farmer-turned-ski coach Li Wei speaks into this walkie-talkie at the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

School children learning to ski take to the slope at the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Local residents past by a sign which reads "Forever follow the Communist Party" at Houheilong Miao, a village in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The village has a view of the Olympics skiing venue in the distance. Its 20 mostly vacant traditional courtyard houses have been turned into lodgings and a cafe dubbed the "Winter Olympic Home." (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A local resident hired as a cleaner for a traditional courtyard house turned into lodging for tourists, inspects one of the room in Houheilong Miao, a village in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The village has a view of the Olympics skiing venue in the distance. Its 20 mostly vacant traditional courtyard houses have been turned into lodgings and a cafe dubbed the "Winter Olympic Home." (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A local resident hired as a cleaner for a traditional courtyard house turned into lodging for tourists, inspects one of the rooms in Houheilong Miao, a village in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The village has a view of the Olympics skiing venue in the distance. Its 20 mostly vacant traditional courtyard houses have been turned into lodgings and a cafe dubbed the "Winter Olympic Home." (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

School children learning to ski take to the slope at the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A man interacts with a pet duck at a cafe in Houheilong Miao, a village in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The village has a view of the Olympics skiing venue in the distance. Its 20 mostly vacant traditional courtyard houses have been turned into lodgings and a cafe dubbed the "Winter Olympic Home." (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Young skiers stop for a water break on the slope of the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)