The Yabuli Ski Resort attracts tourists from all over the world every year.	Albert Suen, chairman of Macao Chung Kiu Investment Holdings Ltd.

Albert Suen, president of the Association for the Promotion of Trade and Economic Cooperation between Macao and Heilongjiang, and chairman of the Chung Kiu Investment Holdings Ltd., is an old friend of Harbin. Suen has been elected a member of the Standing Committee of the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference for three successive sessions since his first cooperation project with Heilongjiang Province in 1991.

Suen’s association invited more than 50 Macao enterprisers to Harbin for the 2007 International China Harbin Fair for Trade and Economic Cooperation. He was at the Yabuli International Convention and Exhibition Center roof-sailing ceremony as well as the official commencement of construction of the Yabuli Macao Street Shopping Plaza -- both cooperative projects between the Chung Kiu Investment Holdings Ltd. and the Heilongjiang Longzhu Ski Group.

The Yabuli International Ski Resort, 200 or so km from Harbin, was formerly a Qing Dynasty imperial hunting ground. Chung Kiu Investment Holdings Ltd. first came into contact with the Longzhu Ski Group in 2002. Chung Kiu branched out into ski tourism in 2004 when the two parties established Avaunce Enterprises Ltd. Yabuli received more than 100,000 ski tourists in 2006, and has been successful in its bid to host the 2009 Winter Universiade.

“It was the recognition and support we received from the provincial Party committee and government that clinched our decision to invest. Hosting the 2009 Winter Universiade and our successful bid for the Winter Olympics will not only bring enormous business opportunities to Yabuli, but also provide long-range assurance of investor’s maximum benefit,” says Suen confidently. The railway between Harbin and Yabuli Ski Resort, currently under construction, will cut the time it takes to travel from Harbin to Yabuli to just two and a half hours.

Heilongjiang is China's northernmost province. Its chilly climate and natural environment provide perfect conditions for developing the ski industry. At present, there are more than 170 ski sites in Heilongjiang Province, which constitute half of China’s ski tourism. Investment projects providing infrastructure for the 2009 Winter Universiade include the Yabuli International Convention and Exhibition Center and the Macao Street Shopping Plaza. The former cost RMB 320 million and the latter RMB 80 million. They will provide catering, accommodation and conference facilities for 1,000 guests.

“After the Winter Universiade, in addition to building other winter activity facilities, Avaunce will develop golf courses, equestrian training facilities and a hunting ground to satisfy the needs of business and tourism throughout the seasons,” says Zhu Xiaohu, president of the Longzhu Ski Group, obviously confident of a rapid return on the group’s investment. “The goal of Heilongjiang provincial government is very clear --- to make Yabuli a Chinese Davos.”