South bound

The craze for ice and snow tourism has heated up with dropping winter temperatures. Unlike in previous years, southern regions like Jiangxi are now actively competing for a share in the ice and snow tourism pie, luring visitors away from well-known northern winter attractions such as Harbin in Heilongjiang province.

Data from the hotel booking app Qunar indicates that since November, nationwide bookings for ice and snow-related attractions have risen by 30 percent compared to the same period last year.

Additionally, searches for terms such as "skiing", "ice and snow", and "ski resorts" have tripled. Notably, half of the most popular ice and snow destinations going by early bookings before the end of December are located in southern China.

Another popular winter destination in Jiangxi is the Qixingling International Ski Resort in Tonggu county, Yichun city, which is just a four-hour drive from Lushan Mountain.

At an altitude of approximately 1,400 meters, the ski resort offers various slopes, including beginner and intermediate trails, as well as a snow play area.

This spread attracts numerous visitors from nearby cities such as Yichun, Nanchang and Changsha in Hunan province, who come for skiing and recreational activities.

One such avid skier is Nanchang resident Guo Yajian. "I've been skiing for two years now, and the excitement surrounding the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics has deepened my passion for this sport," said Guo, who has mastered both single and double-board skiing techniques through constant practice.

As a skiing enthusiast, Guo has visited Qixingling several times, each time taking more and more friends along.

"Gliding on the snowboard, speeding down the slopes, and experiencing the exhilaration of chasing ice and snow-it's a truly refreshing experience," he said.

However, it's not only young people making a beeline for the resort, it's the destination of choice for a number of families too.

Deng Xide, the deputy general manager of the resort, said that since Dec 15, the resort has welcomed over 10,000 visitors a week. Early bird ticket sales have surpassed 8 million yuan, and he expects a vibrant snow season this winter.

Yuan Zhiqiang, director of snowfield planning at the resort, said that since the ski resort opened in 2016, it has attracted not only local visitors from Jiangxi but also guests from Hunan, Guangdong, Fujian and other provinces, totaling over 300,000 so far.

"Last year, during the Spring Festival, we introduced night skiing, which allowed us to host 5,000 visitors daily, setting a new record," Yuan said, adding that Qixingling ski resort exemplifies the growing trend of ice and snow sports moving southward.

For southerners, there is a sense of novelty surrounding ice and snow tourism, and thus its market potential is huge.

"People living in southern China have always been fascinated by snow. At the end of January 2024, during a cold wave, my friends and I visited Mingyue Mountain in Yichun city," said Zhu Jie, a college student from Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi. Needless to say, she found it a fascinating experience.

"It was the day after a heavy snowfall, and we couldn't resist going up the mountain. We spent over 100 yuan to take the cable car up. The soft snow and rime filled us with tremendous awe," the 21-year-old said.

"That was the first time I had seen such a scenery. The mountain was truly worth visiting that day."