China News Service, Urumqi, January 9th (Tao Shuanke) The ice and snow industry in Xinjiang has experienced a process from "nothing" to existence, from "niche" to Internet celebrity, and from "Internet celebrity" to the public.
What ice and snow resources does Xinjiang have, what is the confidence to build ice and snow sports and ice and snow tourist resorts, and what is the prospect?
Recently, reporters explored the stories behind the development and changes of Xinjiang's ice and snow industry.
Altay City, Xinjiang offers ski sports, and teenagers train at the ski resort.
Photo by Zanhar Polati
Xinjiang ski resort: "long", "pink" and "warm"
When it comes to ice and snow resources, Xinjiang undoubtedly occupies an important advantage. Industry insiders summed up the advantages of Xinjiang's ice and snow in three words, "long", "pink" and "warm".
The climate determines that Xinjiang is rich in ice and snow resources, and is affected by cold air for a long time in winter. Along the Tianshan Mountains and the Altay Mountains, there is a lot of snowfall in various regions. For example, the Altay region begins to snow around October every year, and the annual snow accumulation period reaches 134 days. The snow accumulation reached more than 1 meter.
The snow in many places in Xinjiang is in the form of powder, which is "powder snow" suitable for ski lovers.
The key factor is that Xinjiang is far from the ocean, has a dry climate, and has a continental snow layer with clean, soft and good snow quality.
In terms of "warmth", many ski resorts are sunny and warm, making people feel less cold.
Every winter, ski lovers, like migratory birds, travel thousands of miles from other places to enjoy the fun of skiing. They live in Altay for several months.
The Altay region has the "powder snow" that skiers dream of.
It is precisely because of the gathering of ski lovers that the hotels in Altay City are full every winter. It can be said that it is hard to find a room. Winter ice and snow sports have also boosted the winter tourism market in Altay.
Not only that, there are a lot of high-quality ski resorts in various parts of Xinjiang. In addition to the Yili River Valley and Sailimu Lake in the western part of the Tianshan Mountains in the Altay region, the Urumqi South Mountain in the middle part of the Tianshan Mountains and Barkol in the eastern part of the Tianshan Mountains are also talented and have good ski resorts. snow quality.
Altay General Mountain Ski Resort, the closest ski resort to the city.
Photo by Zanhar Polati
Policies "boost" ice and snow sports
There are currently 84 ski resorts in Xinjiang, 5 of which are 5S and 5 4S.
Each major ski resort has different characteristics. For example, Xinjiang Silk Road International Ski Resort has an altitude of 2,500 meters, a drop of 700 meters, and a maximum slope of 13 degrees. In addition, you can also enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way.
Located in Altay Hemu (Jikpulin) International Ski Resort, adjacent to Hemu Village, the longest ski trail is 11 kilometers long, starting at 2,800 meters above sea level, and the long ski trail has a large drop.
In addition to skiing here, snow lovers can also try the snowmobile experience project to experience the speed and passion on the snow field.
As the pace of ice and snow tourism accelerates, Xinjiang's ice and snow industry will also usher in a golden period of development, and ice and snow economic development plans and supporting policies and measures will gradually be put in place.
In August 2022, Xinjiang issued the "Action Plan on Further Breaking the Bottleneck Constraints and Promoting the High-quality Development of Ice and Snow Sports and Ice and Snow Tourism in the Autonomous Region (2022-2025)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), proposing to give full play to the advantages of ice and snow resources and use institutional mechanisms Driven by reform and innovation, supported by promoting the construction of a high-quality talent team, focusing on building a high-standard ice and snow industry system with cultural guidance, sports empowerment, equipment coordination, and service support, we will promote the upgrading and scale development of Xinjiang's ice and snow industry. Efforts will be made to build Xinjiang into a world ice and snow sports and ice and snow tourism resort.
By 2025, Xinjiang plans to increase the number of 5S ski resorts from 5 to 8, the number of 4S ski resorts from 5 to 10, and build 3 to 4 high-standard skating halls. The total number of ski resorts will reach more than 100, and the total number of skating halls There are more than 30 schools, and the opening rate of ice and snow sports courses in schools with conditions has reached 100%.
Ski lovers have fun in the snow.
Photo by Zanhar Polati
The ski resorts have "expanded" and aimed at the high-standard construction of the "target"
In recent years, the public's enthusiasm for ice and snow sports has been increasing year by year, and more and more people are participating in winter skiing.
With the continuous construction of ice and snow venues, the number of ice and snow sports people shows a trend of rapid growth.
At present, Xinjiang Altay Vocational and Technical College offers five majors, including tourism management, ice and snow sports training, and ice and snow sports and management. 42 primary and secondary schools in the region have been named as characteristic schools for ice and snow sports by the autonomous region.
Some schools also specialize in skating training programs in physical education classes.
In addition, since 2022, all localities have increased investment in infrastructure construction for the shortcomings of winter tourism development.
Urumqi promotes the construction of the second phase of Xinjiang Silk Road International Resort, tourist center and supporting facilities; Altay region invests 1.83 billion yuan in construction, upgrades Jiangjun Mountain, Keketuohai, Burqin (Jikpurin), and Qinggeli Langshan. The infrastructure of the Great International Ski Resort; Nalati Scenic Area invested 899 million yuan to build hotels, tourist service centers, ski resorts and cableways.
Ice and snow sports have driven ice and snow tourism. In addition to the opening of the ski night field in the Jiangjunshan International Ski Resort of Xinjiang Altai Tourism Development Group, there are resort bars, coffee, slow shake bars, etc., creating a city that never sleeps.
Xinjiang is striving to build Xinjiang into a world ice and snow sports and ice and snow tourism resort with a certain scale and rich and diverse business forms through policy guidance and participation of the whole people.
All localities are also actively innovating skiing, "skating + hot springs", health care and other models, launching a number of "ice and snow" packages to release the consumption potential of the ice and snow market.
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