STORY: Ice-and-snow attractions in China gear up for winter tourism 
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 4, 2024
DATELINE: Dec. 5, 2024
LENGTH: 0:01:41
LOCATION: XI'AN, HARBIN, GUANGZHOU, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of ski resorts in China
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): WU MANXIANG, Ski enthusiast
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): ZHOU JIAXING, Ski enthusiast
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): WEI JIANYU, Snow World of Guangzhou Sunac Land

STORYLINE:

The winter season is coming, and ice and snow attractions across China are eager to seize the opportunity of the tourism surge. 

According to data from the China Tourism Academy, the number of ice and snow tourists increased by 38 percent year on year during the last snow season, and revenues increased by 50 percent.

Taibai Aoshan Ski Resort in northwest China's Shaanxi Province has started welcoming visitors. The resort has added over 30 new snow machines, bringing the total to 150 machines running around the clock.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): WU MANXIANG, Ski enthusiast
"I feel that the snow trails here are great, and the temperature is also very comfortable, which is very suitable for skiing. I recommend everyone to come here!"

Construction of the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, China's "Ice City," is in full swing.
Here, ice blocks carefully stored for over 10 months are being shaped into magical creations.
Spanning 1 million square meters, the park will open to visitors by mid-December.

The ice and snow craze is sweeping the warmer South. In Guangzhou, where winter snowfall is rare, an increasing number of people are embracing the ice and snow experience.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): ZHOU JIAXING, Ski enthusiast
"I came to this ski resort for my first skiing experience and started learning to ski here. My friends think skiing is a very cool thing to do."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): WEI JIANYU, Snow World of Guangzhou Sunac Land 
"Our regular visitors are mostly from Guangdong cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Foshan. We also have tourists from Hong Kong, Macao, and Southeast Asia coming to our ski resort. Our goal is to give everyone a chance to try ice and snow sports. We provide a convenient skiing experience right here, anytime you want."

The growing popularity of winter sports among Chinese consumers is coupled with the government's push to cultivate the ice and snow economy.

China's 2015 pledge to engage 300 million people in winter sports — a target reached before the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has become a quick success with already 346 million participants by 2021.

In November, China revealed an ambitious plan to boost its ice and snow economy, focusing on winter sports, tourism, and equipment manufacturing as key growth drivers, with a projected value of 1.5 trillion yuan (approximately 211 billion U.S. dollars) by 2030.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Xi'an, Harbin, Guangzhou, China.
(XHTV)