As winter approaches, cities in north China have announced the opening of the ski season, with both outdoor and indoor resorts welcoming winter sports enthusiasts from across the country. With recent snowfall reaching many parts of northern China, Chongli -- the Winter Olympics town in Hebei Province -- has opened five major outdoor ski resorts for the new snow season, two weeks earlier than usual. Koktokay town in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of northwest China is home to the earliest ski resort to open nationwide. Since opening in mid-October, Koktokay International Ski Resort has seen a steady rise in visitors. In traditional winter-sports must-go destinations such as Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces in northeast China, major ski resorts have also opened for the new season. In the southern areas, thanks to dry ski slopes and indoor ski resorts, snow sports are no longer limited to a single season. The world’s largest indoor ski venue, located at Qianhai Ice and Snow World in Shenzhen, recently began operating. It now welcomes over 5,000 skiers every day, allowing enthusiasts to enjoy snow sports year-round. With the growing number and variety of ski and snow sports venues, participation in winter sports in China has continued to rise, driving rapid growth in the snow industry. In 2024, China’s snow sports industry reached a total value of 970 billion yuan (about 136.6 billion U.S. dollars), up 9 percent year over year. The figure is expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan (about 140.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025. Shotlist: Chongli District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, north China - Recent: 1. Aerial shots of ski resort; 2. Various of cable cars; 3. Various of skiers on slopes; Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China - Recent 4. Various of cable cars; 5. Various of aerial shots of Koktokay International Ski Resort, skiers on slopes; Heilongjiang Province, northeast China - Recent 6. Various of ski resort, skiers; Jilin Province, northeast China - Recent 7. Various of skiers skiing, taking selfies; Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, southwest China - Recent 8. Various of dry ski slope, skier; Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, south China - Recent 9. Various of Qianhai Indoor Ski Resort, skiers, cable cars; 10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Li Jianhua, visitor (starting with shot 9): "Because we’re from the south, we really long for ice and snow. I’ve even been to Xinjiang before, but this is my first time skiing."; China - Recent 11. Aerial shot of ski resort, skiers. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]