China's Xizang opens its first ski resort

LHASA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The vast land of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region celebrated the opening of its first ski resort this snow season, with the resort established at an elevation of 4,500 meters.

Located in Lhalung Village, Maizhokunggar County, under the administration of the regional capital Lhasa, the ski resort is just 120 km away from the Lhasa city center.

Tashi Doje can now finally celebrate his ski dream coming true. He learned to ski while studying in Beijing several years ago and has since become a passionate skier.

"Every winter I yearn for chances to ski. Now I can finally enjoy skiing without having to leave Xizang. It's just that the ski runs are a bit too short for me to get enough fun," he said.

Coming with her father, 10-year-old Tawa Drolma had an absolute blast in her maiden attempt at snowboarding.

"I want to come here more often. It's so much fun," the girl said excitedly.

The ski resort broke ground in August 2023 and entered trial operation on Nov. 28. The current highest single-day skier arrival is 350 while the resort is designed to handle a daily maximum of more than 3,000 people.

Blessed with mountainous terrain and a long winter season, Xizang has major potential as a snow sports hub. The new resort there boasts a ski season of more than six months, with lifts opening in October and closing in April, noted Chen Jundan, general manager of the resort, who has more than 10 years of experience running ice-snow tourism projects.

"We plan to open it to children regularly for free to give them more exposure to the fun of skiing," Chen said, while adding that the resort will be used for camping activities in summer to fully tap its economic potential.

About 70 people currently work at the ski resort, 90 percent of them local residents, and they earn a decent monthly salary of around 4,000 yuan (about 563 U.S. dollars).

Winter tourism has become a new growth engine to drive consumption on cold days in China, with regions rich in ice and snow resources taking full advantage of tourists' zest for ice-snow activities.

A region-wide winter tourism promotion policy was implemented back in 2018, offering free admission to tourist attractions, including the Potala Palace, and government subsidies for hotels and other forms of tourism expenditure. The opening of the ski resort is a fresh move made by authorities in Xizang in their bid to ride the wave of the burgeoning ice-snow economy.

According to China Tourism Academy, ice-snow tourism will become a major driver of China's winter tourism and ice-snow economy, with its total income expected to surpass 1.1 trillion yuan by 2025.