Snow season in NE China's Changbai Mountains closes

CHANGCHUN, China, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The 2023-24 snow season in northeast China's Changbai Mountains officially closed on Saturday with a ceremony at the Beidahu Ski Resort in Jilin City, Jilin Province.

"I was standing on the top of the mountain and felt indescribable nostalgia for the snow season," said Sun Jiming, a ski enthusiast who traveled from Shanghai for the closing ceremony.

During this snow season, Sun visited several ski resorts in Jilin Province. "I will miss the snow here in the next half year," he said.

One of the largest ski resorts in Asia, Beidahu received a record high of 850,000 visitors during this snow season, representing a 42 percent rise year-on-year. Its revenue also increased by 43 percent from the previous snow season.

"With the growing popularity of winter sports, Beidahu is expected to hit a new record next season," said Yan Shuai, head of the marketing department of Beidahu Ski Resort.

In addition to Beidahu, major ski resorts in northeast China have also witnessed a rise in the number of visitors since last year.

The Vanke Songhua Lake Resort received about 760,000 visitors this season, of which over 70 percent were tourists from outside the province. Medium-size ski resorts like Miaoxiangshan Ski Resort and Tiandingshan Ski Resort in Changchun also saw growth in visitors and revenues.

Chen Siyu, deputy director of Jilin Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, said that Jilin is trying to seize the opportunities of winter sports industry and has continued to expand investment.

According to Chen, Jilin now has 75 ski resorts with a total area of more than 1,200 hectares and a total length of 350 kilometers of ski slopes.

As for the future, Beidahu Ski Resort plans to expand its ski slopes, while Vanke Songhua Lake Resort will build more business and leisure facilities.

In recent years, Jilin's ski resorts have taken efforts to achieve a year-round operation model.

"In summer, we will promote our resort as a vacation destination and offer a variety of tourist activities like study tours," Yan said.