China winter sports sector zooms along despite climate risk ahead

HARBIN: Packed slopes, plush turtle butt pads and 11-dollar passes: this is low-cost skiing in China, where winter sports are on a government-greased track to take in a projected $137 billion this year.The trend is bucking the sluggish consumption seen elsewhere in China’s post-Covid economy — though experts warn climate change and other environmental concerns could risk wiping out some of those gains further down the trail.

President Xi Jinping has dubbed the ski industry a “mountain of gold and silver” and worked to position China as a winter…