Ice and snow tourism gains momentum in southern China

Ice and snow tourism is gaining unexpected momentum in China's southern regions, where snowfall is rare.

By the end of 2024, half of the top 10 most popular ice and snow tourism destinations were cities in southern China, according to travel platforms' bookings orders. Chinese ride-hailing service giant Didi Chuxing reported a year-on-year growth of over 40 percent in demand for rides to ski resorts in southern cities like Hangzhou, Kunming, and Chengdu in early December 2024.

Photo shows snow-topped Gongga Mountain in southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo courtesy of the Wanggangping Scenic Area)

At the Wanggangping Scenic Area in Ya'an city, southwest China's Sichuan Province, a woman surnamed Wu hailing from Leshan, another city in the province, and her friends recently enjoyed the views of the snow-capped Gongga Mountain. At the scenic area's ski resort, many snow enthusiasts skied in light clothing.

"We drive to Ya'an to enjoy the scenery of the snow mountain and hot spring bath every winter," Wu said.

The ski resort is known for being warm enough to ski in light clothing, thanks to its special dry-hot valley climate, according to a staff member of the scenic spot. Some enthusiasts even ski in Hanfu, a type of traditional Chinese garment, creating a beautiful sight to behold.

As a low-latitude region rich in ice and snow tourism resources, Sichuan Province boasts nearly 50 ice and snow tourism scenic spots and over 10 year-round snow-capped mountains, according to an official at the provincial culture and tourism department. The province's relatively mild climate makes outdoor ice and snow activities more comfortable than in northern China.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism unveiled national ice and snow tourism boutique routes for 2024-2025, including several routes in southern regions like Hubei and Sichuan provinces and Chongqing Municipality. These routes feature ice and snow events, night tours and performances, and outdoor activities, offering more options to tourists.

In recent years, indoor facilities for ice and snow sports have been built in southern regions, providing ice and snow resources in all seasons. According to a white paper on China's ski industry between 2023 and 2024, the country has become the world's largest indoor skiing market with 60 operating indoor ski resorts. In terms of the area of snow, China has six of the world's top 10 largest indoor ski resorts, five of which are located in southern regions.

As of the first half of 2024, Guangzhou Bonski in south China's Guangdong Province, the largest indoor ski resort in south China, attracted over 4 million tourist visits in nearly five years of operations. The venue offers various snow activities, including snow tubing and ice bumper cars.

Tourists enjoy skiing at an indoor skiing venue in Guangzhou Bonski, an indoor ski resort in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)

The rapid development of indoor ice and snow venues in southern regions allows local tourists to enjoy ice and snow activities conveniently, said Han Yuanjun, an associate research fellow with the China Tourism Academy. Han added that ice and snow tourism in southern regions tends to focus more on leisure and entertainment compared to northern regions, which is conducive to driving higher consumption demand for ice and snow tourism.

A ski resort in Shangri-La city in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, began operations at the end of 2024. As the lowest-latitude ski resort in the Northern Hemisphere and the closest alpine ski resort to the Southeast Asian countries, it has become a magnet for attracting Southeast Asian tourists.

Thanks to improved transportation links like the China-Laos Railway and relaxed visa policies, Yunnan and other regions have rolled out ice and snow tourism routes targeting Southeast Asian visitors.

Indoor ski resorts in Guangdong have also become popular among international tourists. For instance, Guangzhou Bonski has welcomed tour groups from Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia and other countries. The indoor ski resort is expected to receive over 100 batches of global tour groups this year.

Southern provinces like Jiangxi, Hubei, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Zhejiang have combined ice and snow activities with hot spring bath, homestays, outdoor sports, and educational travel in recent years.

Travel platform data shows that nine out of the top 10 source cities for ski hotel bookings during the 2024-2025 snow season were in southern regions by the end of 2024.

According to Han, tourists in many traditional ice and snow tourism destinations are mainly from southern regions, indicating broad prospects for the development of the ice and snow tourism industry in southern regions.