In pics: Winter sports boom across China

The 26th edition of the Harbin Ice-Snow World opens to tourists across the country in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on Dec. 21, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Zhexin)

In winter, there has been growing excitement for snow and ice sports as ski resorts and ice rinks nationwide have opened to visitors one after another.

China aims to promote its ice and snow economy as a new growth point, with the goal of reaching an economic scale of 1.2 trillion yuan (about $169 billion) by 2027, and 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030, according to the guidelines issued by the General Office of the State Council on Nov. 6, 2024.

The development of snow and ice tourism is expanding beyond major areas like the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, northeast China, and northwest China to include more regions across the country.