Cold Resources, Hot Gains
Ice and snow tourism injects new momentum into rural revitalisation and high-quality development in northwest China’s Xinjiang
Local temperatures reached minus 20 degrees Celsius in December 2023 in Altay, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, but such harsh weather did not hinder well-equipped enthusiasts from skiing in the local Jiangjun Mountain Ski Resort. Since its opening in November, the resort has received an average of more than 4,000 visitors per day, far exceeding that of the same period in previous years.
This is an epitome of Xinjiang’s ice and snow economy. Being rich in ice and snow resources, Xinjiang has devoted great energy to developing ice and snow sports and tourism, turning cold resources into hot economic gains.
Improved facilities
Built in 2009, Jiangjun Mountain Ski Resort is China’s only alpine ski resort inside a city. Just a 1.6-km drive from the downtown, it is accessible in five minutes by shuttle bus. For the convenience of skiers, Altay City has also started direct flights to Beijing and Xi’an. There are also dedicated tourist trains facilitating travel between Urumqi and Altay City. The trains are specially equipped with luggage racks for storing ski equipment.
“Skiers of various technical levels can find trails that suit them from our 72 ski trails,” said Shi Zhiqiang, deputy general manager of Xinjiang Altay Tourism Development Group Co. On 9 December 2023, the resort opened the BK Ski Park built by the HelvePark team from Switzerland and a local team. Skiers can enjoy the fun of skiing and try extreme manoeuvres in this 30,000-square-metre space.
Koktokay International Ski Resort, opened in 2020, is another popular skiing destination in the Altay Prefecture. Operating from October to June annually, the resort boasts the longest skiing season in China. It has a maximum altitude of 3,100 metres and a maximum vertical drop of 1,350 metres.
“It’s an amazing skiing experience. It is suitable for long-distance skiing,” said Andreas, a German who has lived in China for 13 years and has visited many ski resorts, including those in Chongli adjacent to Beijing, and Yabuli in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.
According to Wang Miaomiao, deputy general manager of the ski resort, Koktokay plans to build 80 ski trails, and 27 have been built so far. The scenic spot now has a maximum daily reception capacity of 6,000 people, and has received more than 1 million tourists.
According to the Department of Culture and Tourism of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, as of 20 December 2023, there are 188 venues for ice and snow sports in Xinjiang, including 101 ski resorts, 27 ice skating venues, and 60 ice and snow amusement parks.
Creating new businesses
Xinjiang’s skiing craze has led to a sharp increase in the number of ski instructors. Lyu Yaoping from southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region feels this change. She has been working as a ski instructor at Jiangjun Mountain Ski Resort since 2019. “There were just about 50 instructors in 2019, but now the number has grown to more than 180.”
The biggest change during this period has been the rising popularity of ice and snow sports. According to Lyu, many of her students are from local primary and secondary schools. Since 2018, Altay has incorporated skiing into the physical education content of primary and secondary school students. Every day, about 400 students go to the resort to learn how to ski, and the local education departments pay for students’ skiing fees.
In 2023 Jiangjun Mountain Ski Resort partnered with the France-based Club Med resort franchise. French instructor David Guigaz and Russian instructor Marina Denisova from the elite ski instructor team of Club Med came to train coaches for the Chinese resort. “We hope to introduce an international teaching system, improve the teaching level of instructors, and provide better services to tourists,” said Shi.
According to Shi, the resort has been actively developing new projects according to public demand. After a skier posted a video taken at sunset at the top of the resort, the resort modified the daily operation time of the ski lift so that skiers could stay on the mountaintop at sunset. The idea of a “sunset party” at the Sunside Restaurant at the mountaintop was also born. Now, dynamic music begins to play whenever the sun is about to set, the resort staff play DJ live music and lead a dance, and skiers take off their skis and dance along the music.
Yu Momo, a ski enthusiast from Yinchuan, capital of
northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, has been to ski resorts in more than 20 countries. He found the huge development potential of Koktokay International Ski Resort, which provides one-stop service ranging from homestay to car rental.
Booming ice-snow tourism
Talate is a husbandry village where the population is predominantly made up of Kazakh ethnic people. Blackcurrant planting and pasture husbandry used to be the main sources of income for the 778 villagers. After Koktokay International Ski Resort opened in 2020, a growing number of tourists have begun to stay in the village due to its close proximity to the ski resort.
Villager Kuliparan Habulihazi saw this business opportunity. With the support of the local government, she renovated her yurt and opened a homestay named House on Horseback. As soon as it opened, the Kazakh-style homestay attracted tourists from all over the country. According to Kuliparan, her homestay can bring an extra income of 100,000 yuan ($13,900) a year, which was unimaginable in the past.
“At first, villagers worried if their investments will bring enough returns. We then carried out targeted skills training, such as catering and room service, which has greatly improved the level of tourism services. Ten demonstrative homestays have been built, providing models for villagers to do the business,” said Naziguli Lazidan, director of the tourist service centre of Talate Village.
“At present, 180 villagers work at scenic spots and the ski resort. The per-capita annual income of our village has reached 23,000 yuan ($3,197), of which the