As this year's international skiing festival kicked off in Chongli district of Zhangjiakou, North China's Hebei province, many entrepreneurs from the Untied States have come here in groups to make business deals with local governments to develop the winter sports industry.

"We will move our manufacturing factories to Zhangjiakou in 2018 to make winter sports products," Jeremy Bloom, an American ambassador for the 2022 Winter Olympics to Zhangjiakou, said Friday at a side forum of the festival - the first Global Entrepreneurial Innovation Development Forum in Zhangjiakou.

As a winner of three gold medals at the World Ski Championships, Bloom never stopped being enthusiastic about skiing.

He started a technology company in 2010 for making helmets and goggles in the US, which is expected to be relocated to Zhangjiakou High-tech Industrial Development Zone next year.

Together with Bloom, six other CEOs of winter sports companies also came to Zhangjiakou.

The companies - including ski resort software providers, ski training providers, boot makers and heated-jacket producers - have all signed contracts with local governments to partner in developing winter sports industries.

"Zhangjiakou is the fastest growing and most exciting outdoor market in the world right now," said Bloom in his speech at the forum. He added all companies will help Zhangjiakou develop into a large and successful outdoor city.

Hui Jian, Party chief of Zhangjiakou, said the city is willing to join hands with anyone eager to make contributions to build the place into a city of sports.

At a signing ceremony after the forum, contracts of 13 cooperative projects between the government of Zhangjiakou and companies from home and abroad were signed, with a total investment of 40.6 billion yuan ($6 billion).
Chongli, which will host most of the snow events during Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympics, boasts seven major ski resorts, including Genting, Wanlong, Taiwu and Changchengling.

Two years after Beijing and Zhangjiakou succeeded in the bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, the region has seen a ski boom.

During the 2016-17 season, Chongli received about 2.7 million visitors to ski here, a 20 percent increase year-on-year, according to the publicity department of Zhangjiakou city.

Contact the writer at zhangyu1@chinadaily.com.cn