As China vigorously develops its ice and snow economy to boost consumption, homegrown gear makers are aiming for rapid growth in the winter sports market, seeking to catch up with foreign brands that have long dominated the sector.
Ski resorts across northeast China's Jilin Province have been bustling with visitors this winter.
One of the most popular snowboards among beginner and intermediate skiers is a lightweight and easy-to-control snowboard made of carbon fiber, which is traditionally used in high-end manufacturing.
Its maker said the snowboard, which is lighter, helps skier improve control.
"In terms of weight, our products are more than 20 percent lighter than traditional snowboards, which makes control more accurate," said Yue Zhijun, head of carbon fiber snowboard production at Jilin Chemical Fiber Group, which is based in Jilin Province’s Jilin City.
While traditional industries are venturing into the winter sports gear market, ice and snow equipment producers are leveraging customization and localization to increase international presence.
In Changchun City, a sports equipment company's skate production lines have been operating at full capacity, to fulfill orders from more than 20 countries and regions.
An employee attributed their popularity to custom designs for wearers.
"Each pair is basically custom-made to perfectly fit an athlete's foot shape and other details. This solves the problem of Asian athletes' foot shapes not matching imported shoes,” said Yue Rujing, employee of the sporting goods company.
The booming development of Jilin's winter sports gear industry is largely attributed to the strong support of collaboration between industrial companies and academic institutions.
Since the beginning of this year, Jilin Province, with Changchun as its core, has integrated high-quality research resources from universities such as Jilin University and Northeast Normal University to establish a key laboratory for ice and snow equipment. The collaborative mechanism covering procedures from research and development, pilot testing to mass production has enabled research results to be rapidly transformed into industrial advantages and promoting the high-quality development of the ice and snow equipment industry.
"Our laboratory has developed an indoor ski simulator, which allows people to learn to ski and experience skiing during the off-season. This is part of the overall ice and snow equipment development process. We have been dedicated to the research and development of snow and ice gear, and made breakthroughs in related equipment. Our old industrial base has strong equipment foundation, and we have been integrating existing equipment companies with the winter sports industry to jointly promote the high-quality development of the ice and snow equipment sector,” said Xin Benlu, director of winter sports lab of Jilin University.
Currently, Changchun and its surrounding area has brought together 32 ice and snow equipment enterprises, forming a complete industrial chain from core materials and equipment manufacturing to end products. The industrial cluster has driven the steady growth of the ice and snow equipment industry in Changchun, Jilin, Liaoyuan, and other areas.
According to Jilin's 15th Five-Year Plan, the province will focus on technological innovation, industrial integration and empowerment, with an aim to build a world-class ice and snow equipment manufacturing and application base by 2030.
China's homegrown gear makers rev up for bigger shares of winter sports market
