Chinese skiers cool off at world's largest indoor ski park

Harbin, China

IT was a hot summer afternoon in Harbin and tourists strolled cobblestone streets with the Chinese city's famous milk popsicles in hand. But indoors, it was perfect weather for skiing.

At the city's new Ice and Snow Park, chilly winds blew snowflakes around skiers zipping down the manmade slopes of the world's largest indoor ski park, a potent symbol of China's ambitions to turn itself into a winter sports powerhouse ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Kept at a chilly -5 degrees Celsius by fans and an underground cooling system, the sprawling 80,000-square metre facility boasts six runs, the longest …