From 40 to 46 degrees north latitude, it is a magical latitude zone. Whether it is the "Golden Latitude Zone of Corn" and the "Golden Latitude Zone of Rice" across Asia, Europe and North America, or the "Golden Latitude Zone of Wine" distributed in the Yalu River Valley, Bordeaux and California, they are all located in this latitude range. In recent years, it has been discovered that it also contains the "golden latitude zone of ice and snow" in the Changbai Mountains, the Alps, and the Rocky Mountains, where powder snow is abundant. Jilin, China, is precisely in this magical latitude zone.
This snow season, the icy and snowy land of Northeast China attracts tourists from all over the world with an unprecedented siphon effect, becoming the "high-energy tropics" of the northern hemisphere in winter. Jilin put forward the brand concept of "snowing in the long day", expanded its global influence, and achieved three sets of highlight data, including a year-on-year increase of 356.7% and 310% in tourist reception and tourism revenue from November to December last year, a year-on-year increase of 406.69% and 659.06% in tourist reception and tourism revenue on New Year's Day in 2024, and a year-on-year increase of 560% in the number of Spring Festival tourism orders.
"Ice and snow are also mountains of gold and silver." Jilin lays out the ice and snow industry with the whole chain of "ice and snow +", relying on the time, location, and people, and deeply expands the extension of sports, culture, education, economy and trade, and equipment manufacturing, and provides a new blue ocean for investment in the "golden latitude zone of ice and snow". More and more practitioners and investors are also looking here to cast a vote of confidence in the high-quality development of China's ice and snow economy with practical actions.
High-quality resources attract customers from all over the world
In the cold of winter, the snow is frozen and the snow is drifting, and a new cold snap has caused the minimum temperature in Jilin City, Jilin Province to drop below minus 20 degrees Celsius, but in the Beidahu Ski Resort, countless Chinese and foreign skiers are still happy - Max Brauin is one of them. Brauin was born in Canada and has been snowboarding for over 20 years. In his early years, he was accustomed to skiing in Europe, but in recent years he has chosen to cross the Pacific Ocean to Jilin, China.
"The terrain is getting richer, the infrastructure is getting better, the number of people getting involved in the skiing is getting bigger, and it's great that there are new changes every year!" says Brauin. In 2018, he came to Jilin with a try-out mentality under the introduction of a friend, and was shocked by the powder snow resources and supporting conditions of Beidahu, and since then it has become a must-visit place for him every year. Out of love for Chinese culture, he chose the Chinese name "Macron" for himself and said that he "wants to spend the Spring Festival in China this year."
Beidahu Lake has now become a golden point in the "golden latitude zone of ice and snow". Not only is it rich in powder and has Asia's leading 870-metre drop, but it was also doubled in size in 2022 – it now has 64 runs with a total of 239 hectares. According to the Huabei APP, as of 6 o'clock on January 25, Beidahu topped the list of Chinese ski resorts in the 2023/2024 snow season with a ski mileage of 1.3184 million kilometers.
Rime scene in Beidahu Ski Resort (photo by Xu Chang)
With a long snow period, a large amount of snow and good snow quality, Jilin has the confidence to shine in the "golden latitude zone of ice and snow". There are 75 ski resorts in the province, with a total area of more than 1,200 hectares and a total length of more than 350 kilometers. From 2016 to 2019, Jilin received about 10 million more tourists per snow season. Since New Year's Day this year, the number of notes and comments on social platforms with "Changbai Mountain" as the keyword has increased by more than 200% year-on-year, making it one of the most popular tourist destinations in China.
Since the successful bid for the Beijing Winter Olympics, China's ice and snow industry has entered the track of high-quality development that has attracted global attention, which has greatly benefited Jilin, a traditional ice and snow province. In recent years, during the snow season, ski enthusiasts from all over the world rush to the major ski resorts in Changbai Mountain like migratory birds, and at the same time drive rime, hot springs, ice lanterns, snow sculptures, dragon boats, food and other products, attracting many tourists from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and other "snow-free countries" to come across the ocean.
"We come to Jilin for skiing almost every year. Dmitry, a snowman from Vladivostok, Russia, told reporters. Compared with the top ski resorts in Switzerland, France and other countries, the ski resorts in Jilin are not inferior in terms of snow quality, cable cars, services, etc., and for them in the Far East, the distance is closer and the transportation is more convenient. "The ski resorts in Jilin City, Baishan City, Tonghua City, and Yanbian Prefecture are the most popular with us. Dmitry said.
Sun Guangzhi, director of the Jilin Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, introduced that Jilin will make every effort to build a world-class ice and snow brand and ice and snow tourism resort, implement a series of "Ji" brand actions, and give breakthrough support in financial funds, development policies, organizational guarantees and other aspects, and strive to receive more than 115 million tourists in the province during the snow season from 2023 to 2024, with a total income of more than 230 billion yuan from ice and snow tourism.
The development of the industry is becoming more and more international
Since the beginning of this snow season, people have not only seen tourists from all over the world in the major ski resorts in Jilin, but also found many "foreign coaches". Lucia Bayes, from Madrid, Spain, is one of them.
After New Year's Day, primary and secondary school students entered the winter vacation, and there were more little snowfriends who came to Vanke Songhua Lake Ski Resort in Jilin City. "Protective gear is all in order, aren't you?" asked Bayes in English as he buckled the children's helmets and their clothes. After riding the cable car, counting the number of people, forming a formation, and reaching the top of the mountain, Bayes instructed the children to bend over, bend their knees, and kick the ground...... Afterwards, one by one, the students slid down one by one, drawing clear semicircles on the white slopes.
Ski enthusiasts skiing in Vanke Songhua Lake Resort in Jilin City (photo by Xu Chang)
"There are a lot of skiers in China, and more and more people are getting professional training to improve their skills. The 26-year-old said. She works for a ski training institution in Switzerland, has taught in ski resorts in France, Italy, Spain, New Zealand and other countries, and came to China for the first time in early November 2023 by the headquarters. "The ski industry has a lot of potential, which is an important factor that attracts us to work here from all over the world. She said.
"From now on, I will also be a member of CASI!" Wang Doubao, a student at Jilin University, shared his joy on social media a few days ago. Under the guidance of a Canadian "foreign coach", Wang Doubao underwent a five-day training and passed the assessment to obtain the Canadian Snowboard Instructor Level 1 (CASI) certification. Wang Doubao said that her skiing level was recognized by the FIS and gave her a sense of accomplishment, "I can now teach skiing with a certificate."
In the past 20 years, in order to improve the level of specialization and internationalization, there is no shortage of "foreign faces" in China's ice and snow industry. There are 78 coaches in the list of the Chinese sports delegation for the Beijing Winter Olympics, of which 51 are foreigners, and most of the teams are equipped with a certain number of foreign trainers and masseurs.
The vigorous development of China's ice and snow industry has attracted more and more "foreign faces", and it is no longer limited to the field of competitive sports. Ski Resort Instructor, Ropeway Operation and Maintenance, Snow Compacting Driver, Terrain Design, Physical Training, Sports Rehabilitation, Technical Evaluation...... In the ice and snow of the Changbai Mountains, ice and snow workers all over the world are in full swing.
Hand in hand with the world to seek new development
"China's vast territory, large population base, and broad prospects and opportunities in the ice and snow tourism market will be a very important market segment for us in the future. Peter Schott, International Sales Director of the Austrian ski sports brand Hyde Group, said. The enthusiasm of Chinese to participate in ice and snow sports is increasing year by year, allowing Haide Group to see an important opportunity for cooperation between the Alps and Changbai Mountain.
Long before the Beijing Winter Olympics, Hyde has launched a limited version of China's snowboard, which incorporates traditional cultural elements such as Chinese red, cloisonné and auspicious cloud pattern in appearance. Coincidentally, the American ski brand Burton has also launched a variety of "Chinese-style" snowboards.
The Austrian ski equipment brand Attomick has also redesigned the surface pattern of its narrow waist slalom snowboard, which is most suitable for the gliding environment of Chinese ski resorts, with elements such as Chinese red, dragon and Beijing, to meet the increasingly popular "national tide" needs of Chinese ski resorts. It is not difficult to find in ski resorts all over Jilin that more international brands have emerged in the fields of ropeway cables, access control systems, and maintenance equipment for China's ski resorts. Wanfeng Tonghua Ski Resort, which was renovated and upgraded on the basis of the first alpine ski resort in New China, has an operating system from the Austrian Doppelmayr brand, and Wanda Changbai Mountain Ski Resort has a "face recognition" access control gate and ticketing system manufactured according to the needs of China's ski resorts, and the "face recognition" access control gate and ticketing system from the Austrian Akosesi brand ...... "No one can deny that this is a vast blue ocean." Li Shengchao, sales director of Wintersteg (Beijing) Co., Ltd., a supplier of snowboard repair and maintenance equipment, said.
The product launch and the introduction of the event complement each other. On January 13, the World X Games (China) Ski Tour was held in Beidahu Ski Resort. Dozens of single snowboarders "fly away" between ski park jumps, colliding skill and passion. Since 2021, the X Games has been held in high-quality ski resorts in Jilin and other places for three consecutive years. In addition, professional and interesting events such as the Austrian Red Bull Snow Charge Race and the North Retro Slalom Race have also been "settled" in Jilin.
Ski enthusiasts participating in the "first skiing" activity of the new snow season in Jilin Province took a group photo at Vanke Songhua Lake Resort in Jilin City (photo by Xu Chang)
Since the beginning of the 2023-2024 snow season, Jilin has successively carried out nearly 400 ice and snow festivals, competitions, and business activities, and invited envoys from more than 20 countries to China, international organizations and business representatives to gather for exchanges to seek cooperation and development prospects in the ice and snow industry, and inject new business opportunities and momentum into the high-quality development of the ice and snow economy in cold regions.
"The natural environment of the Changbai Mountains and the Alps is very similar, and we are looking for the possibility of cooperation to establish a more sustainable and mutually beneficial model of cooperation in the ice and snow industry. Deputy Commercial Counsellor of the Austrian Embassy in China, Jean Mann said.