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This is Round Table.
Tech, snow and swag.
China's ice and snow industry is on fire.
Let's check out the cutting edge technology, gear and gadgets making winter sports the thing to watch.
And from unforgettable tunes to life's little joys, we're spilling all the feels in Round Table's happy place.
Join us for our weekly dose of sunshine.
Coming to you live from Beijing, this is Round Table.
I'm Hei -Yong. For today's program, I'm joined by Steve Hatherly and Fei -Fei in the studio, first on today's show.
Think winter sports are just about ice and snow?
Well, think again. Technology is transforming China's ice and snow industry, making it more accessible, enjoyable and safer for everyone from first timers to seasoned pros.
With smart gear, robotics and eco -friendly snow solutions, this industry is leveling up in ways you've got to see.
Let's shred through the details.
What recent advancements have been made in smart ski equipment technology in China?
Well, there is so much happening right now.
First of all, we have smart ski wearables.
There are modern ski gears, incorporates a lot of the state of the art, sensors and chips to deliver real -time metrics such as the speed, the jump height and trajectory.
And this data will help skiers to analyze their performance and refine their techniques.
So it's more of assistance to the seasoned pros that they can enhance their competitive skiing experiences.
And there are also systems to help amateurs or first timers to get ahead with the experience on the ice and snow, especially for someone like me who is afraid to break a bone, for example.
Are you not a skier?
Definitely not. It's just the sense of losing control down a slope is really scary.
Attractive to me. Depends on your perspective, right?
Yeah, you're talking about all that data analysis and things like this.
Definitely useful for professional skiers, but I think fun for people who ski recreationally too, because it's just such a whole new world of skiing.
I grew up skiing in Canada from the age of, oh gosh, I don't know, four or five years old.
And as I got older into my teens, yeah, just it didn't have anything cool other than the skis and the boots and the poles.
And that was it, the goggles and the helmet.
But there was no tech.
There was no tech with it at all.
So I think even for people who aren't professionals, having access to this kind of just really fun technology and this fun information, I think they would have have a good time with it too.
It's interesting you brought up that when you were such a little kid, when you started learning to ski and you're from Canada.
And I suppose that explains a lot, you know, the popularity of winter sports in Canada.
And let's say in the northeastern part of China where it's known to be a very snowy and icy place in wintertime, you tend to have young kids to pick up these winter sports at early age and you tumble and fall and you don't get injured, which is great.
And also Fei -Fei and I, I guess we share that feeling as grown ups, when you try to pick up skiing or other winter sports, it's really hard to learn the balance and it's easier to break a bone and nobody wants that.
Children are so close to the ground, right?
They have a low center of gravity and they are fearless.
They'll do anything.
So it's a lot easier for kids to learn something a little scary.
And I agree with you in the sense that when you look at a ski hill from the bottom of the mountain, it looks like, oh, I could probably do that.
It doesn't look so extreme.
But when you're standing at the top of a slope and all of a sudden you have to go down, it looks like it's almost a straight vertical drop.
Right. That's so scary.
But it's good for everyone, pros and first timers to enjoy these super cool tech, including smart ski suits.
Yeah, smart skis and smart ski suits.
That's a mouthful. The smart skis, they have GPS systems and sensors.
And this is really cool because it enables a very precise tracking of a skier's location and their speed and their movement movements as well.
It's linked to mobile apps via Bluetooth and they provide some in -depth analysis to boost performance and safety.
I think safety is the more important aspect there, particularly when we're talking about skis with a GPS system inside.
If something happens to the skier, if they happen to get lost or rescue teams are looking for them, that can become very, very useful.
You mentioned the ski suits.
Yes. The new ones are designed for maximum comfort and maximum safety.
As well, they have.
Oh, this is such a great idea.
Integrated temperature regulation systems.
So you can stay warm when you're on the slopes, when it gets really chilly, or if you're a fan of nighttime skiing, when it gets really bitter cold on the mountains, you can stay nice and warm.
And the ski suits, they also include GPS tracking for emergency situations.
And speaking of the shoes, and I think one of the hurdles that's stopping me of skiing more is because you also need to carry a lot of the gadgets and suits and boots and other things, protective gears with you and sounds a lot.
And now we have like new products like the Bindly ski boots that combines skis and boots in a single unit, eliminating the need for separate skis and bindings.
Yeah, the bindings are the things that you step into that click, that connect your ski boot to the ski itself.
But the new technology, they don't have bindings at all.
So the boot is attached to the ski.
Yes. And they are really lightweight and easy to carry.
And I think it makes, becomes quite a favorite among skiers, especially traveling between resorts and different places.
And also for people who are trying to practice in indoor facilities.
Smart ski goggles. I did not know that these existed 24 hours ago.
But listen to how cool these are.
You can listen to music.
You can answer your phone through Bluetooth.
OK, that's fine. That's not the cool part.
The cool part is that if I have a pair of these goggles and Huyang, you also have a pair of these goggles, I can talk to you like a walkie talkie.
Oh, Huyang, go for Huyang.
Where are you on the mountain?
And we can talk to each other.
And the range is really far as well.
You can be up to a couple of kilometers away from me or even more.
Wow. And the walkie talkie system still works.
Forget the ski hill.
I was thinking about getting some of these for the office.
If you see me walking around in ski goggles, you'll know why.
And it is interesting how ski goggles, although they can be quite chunky, but I think they are a little bit more familiar or familiarized by people these days that do they kind of look like Apple's Virgin Pro in a way?
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, they cover, you know, the full top part of your of your face with a stretchy band around the back of your head.
And maybe we're seeing a little bit more of that in fashion as well.
But we're talking about technology and how do robotics sort of how is it being employed in China's snow and ice industry?
I think they are, first of all, used to, for example, clearing snows and also perform a lot of the challenging tasks, for example, performing inspections on hazardous conditions.
And it also helps, for example, in rescue missions, especially in mountains in Xinjiang or in Jilin, that really helps, for example, to have robots and drones to go deep into the mountains and rescue people who are in need.
And then we also have like simulators that they are for people who are afraid of going outdoors to ski, to experience the ice and snow sports.
They can also just put on a gadget and just to get a feel first, for example, with the visual, the VR technology.
And I think I tried one of those those simulators in one of the exhibition halls here in Beijing.
And it was quite nice that I don't have to get it really get into the really low temperatures and in the wind and in the gale.
And I can just enjoy skiing for a little bit.
It's a nice it's like dipping your toe into the ocean when you're wondering if the water is too cold or not.
Right. Yeah, it could be a way to figure out if skiing is for you.
A little bit more on the robots.
This is a this is a really cool thing.
Yeah, you mentioned the drones.
Those are being used for safety purposes.
They can fly around and keep an eye on skiers and snowboarders as they're coming down the mountain.
But the robots themselves, they can reduce risk for human operators because those robots can get into places safely where humans might have a riskier time doing that in spots where they need to clear snow or perform inspections in really hazardous conditions.
So it makes things a lot safer for the people that previously would have had to do those jobs.
That's definitely a great help for those who are operating in ski resorts as such.
So we've seen how technology has really helped skiers or those who engage in winter sports.
And what about, you know, more technology that are being implemented on land, maybe even indoors and training?
I discovered a new machine when I was looking up what's new in the ski world and snowboard world.
And I came across this.
It's called the dry land ski machine.
And I watched a video from one particular company.
So how would you describe this?
Well, it's about the same size as, let's say, four king sized beds, if you if you put them together, maybe even six king sized beds.
This is a pretty big thing.
But it's portable and you can put it in the back of a trailer.
If you're if you have a truck or a car, you can haul it somewhere and you can set it up within a few hours.
So the thing that makes this so cool is that it's multifunctional.
For practice skiing, they have something that they call ski grass.
It's kind of like a material that gives you the feel of snow, but it's not snow at all.
So the machine itself, which again is about the size of four king sized beds, it's kind of like a giant treadmill.
So they put this ski grass on top, and then just like a treadmill, they can adjust the slope and they can change the pitch of the slope.
So obviously, if the pitch is higher, that means the speed will be faster for your skiing practice.
If it's lower, that would be for beginners.
And then you can go reverse, which is good practice for cross country skiers.
You can take that's one thing it can do.
You can also take off the ski grass and all of a sudden it becomes a giant treadmill for running.
Or if you want, you can cycle on this thing as well, because the track is so huge that again, you can cycle on it with no problem.
And again, you can change the pitch to make it for uphill cycling or things like that.
So these indoor training ski machines are multifunctional, they're portable, they're big, but they're still such a great tool technologically speaking for people who need to use them.
So by the description of the cycling aspect of what you just described, is that pretty much like an upgraded version of spin class?
Yes, think of it like this.
A typical treadmill, you would not put a bicycle on there, it's too small.
But imagine if you had 12 treadmills and you had just removed all the extra pieces so you had one giant running space, well, then you could put a bicycle on there.
And that's what it is.
It's like a bias. It's like a treadmill for bicycles.
If you need it to be, that's not the purpose.
It's called the dry land ski machine.
I'm just saying it can be used for that as well.
It's perfect for those who want to ski still in summer, I guess, for enthusiasts.
They're thinking just skiing for four months for a whole year is definitely not enough and they want to go find some other ways and channels to try skiing.
And I think it's not only perfect for summertime, but also for people who can do it indoors.
And I think currently indoor skiing is also very popular here in China as well, because as the sports of ice snow continue to get popularity around the country and some people, especially those living in the southern provinces like Guangdong or Shanghai, they don't always want to fly all the way north to
Heilongjiang or Xinjiang to ski.
Sounds very time consuming and very expensive.
And now I think, for example, in cities like Shanghai, they have opened a number of indoor ski facilities.
And right now, China also leads the world in the number of indoor ski resorts.
We have more than 50 of these facilities surpassing Japan and South Korea.
Yeah, I saw I used to work next to the facility or one of the facilities in South Korea.
But again, I'm Canadian.
So the idea of going to an indoor ski facility kind of seemed weird to me at the time.
But now I actually regret not going because I really want to know what that experience is like.
In those types of locations, I think they're using I think I could be wrong, but I think they're using fake snow as opposed to the indoor ski machine that I was just talking about.
Yes. And how has technology been used to address environmental concerns related to snow production and snowmaking in that sense?
Yeah. Eco friendly snowmaking.
It's a big deal, right?
And I was actually looking at an article from China Daily referencing the Beijing Olympics that were here in 2022.
And the article said that during the snowmaking process for the Olympics at that time, they used machines with a smart system that helped decide the timing for snowmaking based on weather conditions.
And this is one of the ways that when ski resorts or the ski federation, when they put on international events that they can really do it as efficiently as they possibly can.
Because the technology allows them to track weather patterns, it tells them when they need to make snow and how much snow they need to make.
And because of that smart system, they were able to lower the amount of water used by about 20 percent for each cubic meter of snow that they that they made.
That's that's a huge step in terms of saving water and saving energy.
Yes. And also, I think when people are talking about, you know, the winters are getting warmer right now.
It's not only a need for such smart technology in warmer places like in Guangdong or Shanghai.
And I think a lot of the places up north in Xinjiang and Jilin are also facing this problem is that because the winter is getting smaller, it's getting warmer and shorter, and they need some sort of facilities still to make the snow if they want the resort to be really suitable for skiing.
And to be able to have the technology and also to know how to produce eco friendly fake snow is not only important for cities like Shanghai, but also I think around the world.
I didn't know this, but the first time that artificial snow was used in the Olympics was in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid in New York.
But even still in Pyeongchang in 2018, I visited the Olympics there.
Ninety percent of the snow for the Alpine venue for Pyeongchang 2018 was artificial snow.
They used it in Vancouver in 2010.
They used it in Sochi in 2014.
And I didn't realize this, but one of the International Ski Federation organizers said that snow making is a requirement for ski competitions.
And I thought why? And then he explained why.
He said, we can't depend on the weather when we're holding an international competition.
We have to make sure the timing is right.
We need to use artificial snow.
Yes, so they're trying to make it as eco friendly as they as they can.
And even now, a lot of resorts are integrating water recycling systems into their snow production.
And that helps reduce the impact on on the local ecosystem, too.
And also like the energy they employed, for example, in China, even during the the Winter Olympics here in Beijing, they used a lot of renewable energies like solar solar panels or wind powers to fuel these machines.
And also, for example, lighting indoors.
I read an article about an indoor, a really big indoor ski facility in Shanghai.
They utilize a lot of the solar energy and the snow.
The snow world's roof is covered with 37000 square meters of photo -voltage panels so that they can incorporate more renewable energies to power these giant facilities.
And that's definitely a that was a key theme of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games here in Beijing.
And on that note, what do you think is the role of Winter Olympics played in the growth of ice and snow industry in this country?
Well, I think when you have and I mentioned this on a previous show, when you have the Olympics.
In your country, summer or winter, you're going to have an increased or the goal is to have an increased interest in the sports that are represented for perhaps people who either didn't have an interest in those sports before or didn't even know about those sports before.
You know, I remember talking about the Olympics in Korea, Pyeongchang 2018, the Korean women's curling team did extremely well out of nowhere.
There was no interest in curling in Korea before that.
And then all of a sudden, boom, they were in the news every single day.
They had a cute name.
Their nickname was The Garlic Girls because their hometown was famous for producing garlic.
And all of all of a sudden, there was a big interest in the sport.
And I think the successful hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics here in Beijing, it did the same thing.
It was a catalyst for the development of the ice and snow industry here because all of a sudden you had people become interested in these sports.
And then when people get interested, then you have government initiatives, you have investments, you have infrastructure development.
And then all of a sudden you have a booming sector that didn't exist before.
And, you know, thinking about growing in the north in Beijing, in China, even we had a lot of snow and ice in the winters.
We don't usually go skiing or ice skating growing up.
But now, if you walk around and talking to friends, at least you will find a bunch of them snowboarding or skiing in Chongli or in Xinjiang or somewhere in Jilin.
And I think one of my friends actually checked the calendar this year to see when is the opening season for her ski resort in Chongli and she couldn't wait to go out and snowboarding.
And it wasn't really a thing in China until, you know, China got to host the Winter Olympics.
And that also translates, for example, into leisure tourism relating to ice and snow here in China, which exceeded three hundred and eighty five million yuan last year.
And it is now expected surpass five hundred million this year.
So not only that people are going out snowboarding and skiing, they're also traveling to different places, making those places, for example, a small town in Jilin prosper again.
Yeah, right. When people may not have otherwise visited and talking about, you know, the investment in infrastructure, the places you need places to go to curl, to ski, to snowboard, to do all of these wonderful wintertime things.
And nationwide, the number of snow venues, ice venues increased from about twenty eight hundred and twenty twenty three up to twenty eight hundred and twenty twenty three.
And that included nineteen hundred over nineteen hundred skating rinks and about nine hundred and fifty, maybe a little less ski resorts.
So with more places to do stuff, people go and visit those spots and hopefully get better in those sports.
Not only, you know, that becomes the leisure activity, but maybe if you're so good at it, maybe you'd be able to compete.
Absolutely. You didn't you didn't tell us.
Are you a skier or a snowboarder or an ice skater?
No. OK, next question.
I was going to mention the ninth Asian winter games will be held in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, starting on February the seventh and ends on the 14th this year.
And this is the second time Harbin has hosted the Asian winter games with the first time being 1996.
So there's definitely a lot of hope in seeing that, you know, hosting a big sporting event like this one would give Harbin another boost in its tourism and its sports.
And I suppose the local people are going to be ready to welcome the athletes, the tourists and, you know, anybody who's interested to see the winter wonderland in Harbin.
Really exciting. Yeah.
And they were doing some test events in the region, right, starting around this time of year.
I think they were doing some tests there to get ready for the for the bigger event.
And also, I'd like to ask you guys one more question regarding tech.
How has technology influenced the growth of ice and snow industry in China?
Well, I think that the sports are now more accessible and things that used to be seen, perhaps for a smaller group of people, maybe in the past where you would see skiing or snowboarding is something for the wealthy or the elite.
When you have more facilities, tickets become more affordable.
When you have a greater selection of places to go, it becomes less expensive.
So I think that having the sports more accessible for people is one of the things that really helps out.
People start to search it more on the Internet, you get more TikTok videos about it and things like that, too.
Oh, definitely. And then it becomes something that people are familiar with and becomes a staple in their life.
And that's something fun.
And also it contributes to the economy and the sports as well.
And the snow and ice industry in China continues to embrace innovation with cutting tech, cutting edge technology leading the way winter sports are no longer confined to the cold.
They're inspiring a new generation to explore, connect and push boundaries one snowflake at a time.
