Urumchi Building Asia’s Largest Ski Resort PingTian Resorts, Ltd., a wholly owned foreign enterprise comprised of a diverse group of American and Hong Kong investors, is set to begin construction of a world class, luxury ski resort in the Tianshan Mountain range of the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is located an hour’s drive from the regional capital of Urumqi. For this project, Pingtian has signed development agreements with the local government for investment of US$200 million.

Occupying 50 square km, PingTian will be the largest ski resort in Asia and is expected to eventually achieve what its investors are calling ‘world class’ status.

To be built in phases, the resort is scheduled to open the first stage in November of this year. The initial season’s offering will feature state of the art lifts, snowmaking and daily grooming, modern ski rentals, a professional ski school, a comprehensive ski patrol and safety systems. Later phases of the development will include five-star hotels, luxury retail villages, a convention center, two PGA-quality golf courses, an equestrian center, tennis center and full spa facilities.
Reports say that ski industry veteran Chuck Tolton has resigned from Vail Resorts Management Company, and joined the new PingTian Resort as Vice Present of Resort Operations.