The Chinese government has issued comprehensive guidelines to boost the vitality of the ice and snow economy with the high-quality development of ice and snow sports. The guidelines include promoting youth participation in ice and snow sports, enhancing infrastructure and the industrial chain, and the creation of leading enterprises in the sector. Building on the momentum of 300 million Chinese who have participated in ice and snow sports annually, the guidelines set a target for the ice and snow economy to reach CNY1.2 trillion by 2027, with better infrastructure, markedly improved services, and enhanced national competitiveness in those sports. Several high-quality destinations for ice and snow sports and tourism will be developed, while the “Ice and Snow Silk Road” and the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Ice and Snow Sports Demonstration Area will advance further in development.
Song Kui, an industry expert based in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, told the Global Times there remains a vast amount of untapped potential for ice and snow sports. “And the development of ice and snow sports can be interlinked with ice and snow tourism, and a number of upstream and downstream industries such as equipment making and hotel services are significant,” Song said. During this year's three-day New Year holiday, a record 3.05 million tourists visited Harbin, renowned as the “crown jewel of ice and snow” in the country, with the city generating a tourism revenue of CNY5.91 billion. E-commerce portals and retailers in China are reporting brisk sales of winter sports gears, as the upcoming 9th Asian Winter Games Harbin 2025 is injecting new vitality into China's booming ice and snow economy.
French multi-specialist sports brand Decathlon said it has seen rising demand for a variety of winter sports gears at its stores in China since last year, with robust annual growth rate in the range of 150% to 300%. Sales of snowboards surged by 108% in 2023, according to Decathlon. Data from e-commerce platform JD.com showed that since November last year, sales of ski suits increased by 180% year-on-year, and those of ski equipment by more than 150% year-on-year by value. The emergence of domestic winter sports brands has provided consumers with more diversified and personalized choices, JD.com said. The guidelines aim to establish three to five globally recognized ice and snow tourist resorts in locations such as in Beijing, Hebei, Heilongjiang and Xinjiang. Following the release of the government guidelines, several A-share listed companies focused on ice and snow sports saw a significant rise in their share prices, the Global Times reports.
