Urumqi makes good use of "cold" resources to make winter tourism hot "snow" boil

　　China News Agency, Urumqi, December 16th, title: Urumqi makes good use of "cold" resources to make winter tourism hot "snow" boil

　　Author Pan Qi

　　Since the "first skiing" started in early December, the ice and snow tourism in Urumqi has fully recovered.

Recently, the 20th Urumqi Silk Road Ice and Snow Festival opened again at the Xinjiang Silk Road Ski Resort at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, officially kicking off the 2022-2023 winter ice and snow tourism here.

　　In recent years, Urumqi has always regarded winter tourism as an important way to highlight the image of the city, promote the development of the tertiary industry, and drive the development of the local economy.

After 20 years of development, the Silk Road Ice and Snow Festival has become a bright business card for local winter tourism.

　　"In the past 20 years, Urumqi ice and snow tourism has gone through a process from scratch, from small to large. Ideas are changing, the environment is changing, and the service is changing." Li Jianhong, head of Xinjiang Silk Road International Ski Resort, said that the ski resort started construction In the early days, there was no electricity in the ski resort, and the ski trails were formed naturally. Ski tourists could only rent herdsmen’s horses to ride up the mountain or use motorcycles to pull them.

Now there are 7 cable cars and 5 magic carpets in the ski resort, and the transport capacity has reached 12,000 passengers per hour, which means that there are 20,000 skiers a day without queuing.

　　At present, most of the ski resorts in Urumqi are located in Urumqi County, which is under the jurisdiction of the city.

Shen Yang, deputy magistrate of Urumqi County, recalled that when the first Silk Road Ice and Snow Festival was held in 2003, there were only more than 100,000 winter tourists in the county, but now Urumqi County has more than one million winter tourists.

　　Guo Zhiwei, a ski enthusiast from Taiwan, together with 30 snow friends from all over the world, became the first ski group outside Xinjiang received by the Silk Road International Ski Resort in the new snow season this year.

"I flew over from Guangzhou two days ago and planned to ski in Xinjiang for about a month." Guo Zhiwei said.

　　Li Jinyang, a guy from Hunan, said: "This is my second time to ski in Urumqi. The sun here is sunny and the slopes are professional. It is simply a paradise for ski lovers."

　　According to Feng Xia, member of the party group and deputy director of the Urumqi Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism (Urban Cultural Relics Bureau), Urumqi has 6 S-level ski resorts, including 2 5S-level ski resorts; The first-ranked Xuanzang Road, the second-ranked Aiwen Road, and the fourth-ranked Extraordinary Road are the largest ice and snow resource reserves with the best latitude, the highest temperature, the largest altitude difference, and the largest scale in the country.

Urumqi has been rated as one of the "Top Ten Ice and Snow Tourism Cities in China" for six consecutive years, and the Silk Road Ice and Snow Festival has also been listed among the "Top Ten National Ice and Snow Tourism Festivals". Urumqi has become one of the hottest cities for winter tourism in the country.

　　Li Guiqin, Secretary of the Party Branch of Pingxiliang Village, Shuixigou Town, Urumqi County, said that ice and snow tourism is booming day by day, and our Pingxiliang Village is the direct beneficiary.

When the ski resort started construction in 2003, the village’s per capita net income was less than 1,000 yuan (RMB, the same below), and it will reach 38,000 yuan in 2021, making it one of the “National Key Villages for Rural Tourism”. 80% of the village’s income comes from tourism and 70% of its employment Relying on tourism, villagers get rid of poverty and become rich at their doorstep.

　　A staff member of the Silk Road International Ski Resort told reporters that he used to stay at home in winter and had nothing to do.

Since the rise of ice and snow tourism, I have been trained to work in ski resorts.

"In winter, I put down my hoes and picked up the snowboards. I also have income in the slack season. 80% of the labor force in the village is employed in the local ski resort. The villagers who used to farm the land, herd sheep and horses have turned into coaches, rescuers, and waiters. .We look forward to the snow season more than ski lovers.”

　　It is reported that the five ski resorts at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, including Silk Road, Baiyun International, Sunshine, Yinfeng, and Holiday Nanshan, have provided more than 800 jobs, and various tourist homestays have directly provided more than 500 jobs and indirectly absorbed thousands of local employees. people.

　　This year’s ice and snow season, Urumqi combines ice and snow tourism resources and characteristic check-in cultural tourism spots, not only launching “One City Tour Xinjiang·Crossing the Silk Road”, “Watching the Snow in the Sun, Rhyming with Snow in Nanshan”, “Winter Love Songs, Enjoying Ice and Snow” and other winter activities. There are 10 boutique routes for one-day and two-day tourism, and will continue to carry out interactive and participatory winter cultural tourism activities to make the ice and snow industry hot "snow".

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