China's winter economy heating up rapidly

Among these facilities, indoor ski resorts have shown major growth.

The country has added 15 new indoor ski resorts, while five were closed. With 60 operational indoor resorts, they now account for 8.34 percent of all ski resorts and attracted 4.88 million skier visits, a 33.7 percent year-on-year increase.

The rise of snow tourism is particularly evident in regions like Jilin, Xinjiang, and Heilongjiang province, which have seen significant growth in skier visits.

Jilin rose to the top spot among provinces for skier numbers, overtaking Hebei, while Heilongjiang recorded an 88.65 percent increase in skier visits — the highest nationwide. Xinjiang followed with a 56.48 percent rise, and Beijing, though dropping to fourth place, remains a key hub for winter sports enthusiasts, said the report.

Meanwhile, Harbin in Heilongjiang came to national attention thanks to its winter attractions. The term "Erbin", a nickname of Harbin, known for its ice and snow festival, has gained popularity across the country.

Even in Changchun, capital of Jilin, the number of online discussions about "ice and snow tourism" increased 10-fold compared to the same period in 2023.

The influx of visitors is transforming local economies.

In the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, 19 national ski resorts recorded 9.43 million tourist visits, with average daily guest numbers approaching 500,000 for the first time. Revenue from these resorts soared, with average tourism income increasing 5.43 times year-on-year, according to Li Yu, director of the ice and snow industry research center, the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research in China.