China

With 1.3 billion people, a booming economy and plenty of mountains, China has all the right ingredients to become a slide-happy nation.

It's not just us that thinks so. The fact that brands like Rossignol and Quicksilver are already sponsoring in the region is a sure indication they can sniff potential in the Chinese ski market. And with Beijing hosting the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, you can be certain that all sport - including the hurtling-down-a-snowy-mountain variety - is getting a big push in China.

For the immediate future however, skiing and snowboarding in China remains a niche activity.

Cost

Prices in China are still reasonably cheap. A one-day adult lift pass at one of the more popular ski resorts in China costs around $US20.

Getting here

The decent ski resorts in China can be tricky to get to, which means that tagging on a day's skiing or boarding to a short break in one of the major centres just isn't possible. If you say you want to go skiing or snowboarding in China, you've got to really mean it.

Getting to China's largest ski resort (Yabuli) in Heilongjiang Province, for example, involves a 90 minute internal flight from Beijing, a two and a half hour train ride and a bus transfer.

There are more convenient ski resorts in China. Beijing Nanshan International Ski Slope and Resort is only an hour and a half's drive from Beijing and even has an international-standard half-pipe. Just don't expect to work up too much of a sweat. With its highest point just 600 metres (1,968 feet) above sea level, most of the runs are over pretty quickly.

Culture in China

All this talk of convenience is sort of missing the point when it comes to China. Because let's face it, you'd be doing a gross disservice to yourself (and China) if you didn't spend at least a bit of time in Beijing - a city with such history and vitality and culture.

Aside from the city itself, there's the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the last oriental palace in the world. It'd be a shame to touch down at the airport and head straight for the slopes.