By Wang Don & Photos by Lorenz Holder
When most people think about China, they imagine Kung Fu, The
Great Wall, poverty and communism.
Where these things still make an appearance in our daily lives every so
often over here, the new face of China has changed. In an economy that is flourishing, not only are most
snowboards now produced here, but also the sport itself is finding is feet in
what turns out to be the new snowboard market that has the most potential in
the world.
Just a few short years ago, the population of in China had never
even heard of snowboarding (or skiing for that matter), but thanks to Steve
Zdarsky and his event The Nanshan Open things are changing. Nowadays just outside of Beijing you
can find 14 ski areas, one of which is Nanshan, the host of the only
international snowboard event and the resort which boasts The Nokia Nanshan
Mellow Park, the best freestyle area in the country. With the first and largest event in China, The Nanshan Open
with only 6 years behind it is now a 4 star TTR event and has a prize purse of
$25,000 US Dollars. But, things
were not always so glamorous…
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Austin Smith, frontside 5.
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“The Chinese people remind me of the
early 90’s when snowboarding just
started. There is a buzz around it, like the good old days. Nothing but
positive passion for this great shredding activity. I’m looking forward to
experiencing this wild country once again." -Marc Andre Tarte”
Tadej Valentan with another front 5.
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The
Open was born when a handful of riders, mostly foreigners living in
China, got together in the small but first park on Chinese soil. The
day was reminiscent of those homegrown events that took place twenty
years ago in the west, but no one could imagine the potential. For an
event to find such success in such a short time in a country that didn’t event
have distributors of snowboard goods until a short time ago has never been done
before. And with International
media attention, top-level riders in attendance and sponsors such as Red Bull,
Quiksilver and Gibson Guitars, the Nanshan Open is putting Chinese snowboarding
on the map.
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The Nanshan Open has single-handedly driven the progression of
snowboarding from a newborn infant to a teenager in the Peoples Republic. The snowboard scene has by no means
reached its potential, but when you witness the Nanshan Open you would never
believe that this is Chinese snowboarding. With Chinese riders competing head to head with
international pros, musical acts on stage that are famous nationwide, and video
productions like Mack Dawg and The Pirates on hand to catch all the action, its
like you were magically taken back to the west for these tow days.
Atsushi Ishikawa pleasing the crowd.
The park, which was expanded in 2006 by relocating 30,000 cubic
meters of earth, is now the only international standard area of its kind in the
country. Hosting top riders such as Hampus Mossesson, Marc Andre Tarte, Kier
Dillon and Danny Davis, The Nokia Nanshan Mellow Park is an integral part of
The Open. Without the hard work of
Steve and his crew of local top riders, the Chinese snowboard scene would sill
be unheard of….
The Nanshan Open takes place this January 5th and 6th
at The Nokia Nanshan Mellow Park, 20 mins outside Beijing, China.
For more information, please visit www.mellowparks.cn
or stay tuned to www.snowboard.com for
future updates!
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Snowboard.com: 5:39 PM
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