CCTV News: In early spring, the ice and snow seasons across the country are coming to an end. The reporter observed at major domestic ice and snow tourism destinations and found that although the ice and snow season is about to end, the people's enthusiasm for ice and snow sports is still hot.

In Chongli District, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, in recent weeks, there have been crowds of people in major snow resorts every weekend.

The ice and snow season in Chongli, Hebei can last until the end of March and early April. The various ski resorts in Chongli have also launched more colorful activities and more discounted prices to attract ice and snow sports consumers across the country.

Han Xiaoyu, deputy director of the Culture and Sports Bureau of Chongli District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, said: "There are more than 730 events hosted by Chongli in 2024. These events can increase the experience of some tourists and increase our customer base."

According to statistics, since the 2024-2025 ice and snow season, ski resorts across the country have received more than 190 million passengers, a year-on-year increase of 22.8%, and various related consumptions in ski resorts across the country have exceeded 35 billion yuan.

From "Hot Season" to "Fire Season" to extend the ice and snow season

The snow season for ice and snow sports in my country generally starts from mid-to-late November to December, and lasts until the end of February to early March of the following year. After the ice and snow season, after a brief rest, starting from May, various large ski resorts in Chongli, Hebei will switch to the summer operation mode, striving to achieve the transformation of ice and snow facilities from "one season hot" to "four season fire".

As the first Taiwu Ski Town to explore summer operations, it received more than 1.5 million tourists in summer 2024, and gradually got rid of the practice of "relying on the weather to eat" and "raising three seasons in one season".

At present, 7 ski resorts in Chongli have started four-season operation modes. Hiking, cross-country running, mountain bike and other projects are becoming more and more popular with the public, and a diverse outdoor sports destination has gradually taken shape.

Han Xiaoyu said: "After the Winter Olympics, we basically have a full-season operation. We received more than 4 million people in the summer of 2024."

Ice and snow tropical drive the rapid development of the domestic ice and snow equipment manufacturing industry

Ice and snow equipment are the basis for carrying out ice and snow sports and an important part of the ice and snow economy. With the increasing popularity of ice and snow sports, the scale of the ice and snow equipment industry independently developed by my country has grown rapidly, the product technology quality has steadily improved, and ice and snow equipment industry clusters have been formed in many places.

In the Xuanhua Ice and Snow Industrial Park in Zhangjiakou City, from heavy equipment such as cable cars and snow machines to light personal equipment such as skis and ski suits, the production lines of ice and snow equipment manufacturing enterprises are busy. This red domestic fully automatic snow making machine can collect weather station information in real time, automatically start or shut down snow making operations, and achieve independent innovation in multiple key parts. This domestic cable car system also realizes the domestic production of most parts, greatly reducing the investment cost of ski resorts.

Wang Ninggang, general manager of Zhangjiakou Zhongsuo Guoyou Cableway Engineering Technology Co., Ltd., said: "We had a turnover of about 160 million yuan last year, and it is expected to exceed 200 million yuan in 2025."

By relying on the huge market of local ice and snow sports, Zhangjiakou, Hebei has formed two large ice and snow industrial parks. On the basis of achieving local "production, education, research and application", various types of ice and snow equipment are also exported to 14 countries along the "Belt and Road" including Russia, India, and the Philippines.

Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that at present, my country has formed 15 major ice and snow equipment product systems, basically covering the entire industrial chain of ice and snow equipment from head to toe, from individuals to venues, from competitive competitions to mass sports. The number of ice and snow equipment companies has surged from about 300 to nearly 900, and sales revenue has also achieved a significant jump from less than 5 billion yuan to 22 billion yuan.

my country's ice and snow sports drive changes in the world's ice and snow industry pattern

At present, from ice and snow tourism to equipment manufacturing, the "ice and snow economy" is becoming a new engine to drive economic growth, and it also drives changes in the world's ice and snow industry pattern.

Far before the Beijing Winter Olympics, the International Olympic Committee stated that China's proposal to drive 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports will take the development of global winter sports to a new height and open a new era of global winter sports. With the successful hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics, this goal has gradually become a reality from vision.

Wang Xueli, director of the Sports Industry Development Research Center of Tsinghua University, said: "As more people participate in ice and snow sports, we have seen a huge development speed in some industries such as ice and snow education and training, ice and snow tourism, ice and snow competition and performance, and are showing a trend of continuing to improve."

Before the Beijing Winter Olympics, the pattern and industry of world ice and snow sports were relatively mature and stable. As an emerging market, China's participation in ice and snow sports has injected new vitality into the development of the world's ice and snow industry.

Wang Xueli said: "Based on population and development-based maturity, it actually has limited room for it to grow upward. But when we host the Winter Olympics, 300 million people participated in ice and snow sports. The huge number of people has driven a good opportunity for the world's ice and snow industry, which has also driven changes in the entire world's ice and snow industry pattern."