Shanghai L+SNOW Indoor Skiing Theme Resort, the world's largest indoor ski resort, has captivated visitors and ski lovers across the world with novelty experience since its opening in September this year.
Due to different weather conditions, China's winter sports used to take place in the northern part of the country where the weather is colder in winter. However, in recent years, the increase in ice-and-snow facilities in China's southern region has attracted more people there to fall in love with these sports.
Spanning about 350,000 square meters, the indoor ski resort in Shanghai incorporates dining, accommodation, entertainment, and shopping with a Nordic inspired design.
Its indoor ice-and-snow theme park alone covers more than 90,000 square meters, making it the world's largest indoor ski facility. The park features a vertical drop of nearly 60 meters indoors, which allows skiers to have an alpine skiing-like experience.
"It is probably the only indoor ski resort in China that features cable cars. When coming down, the speed of the cable car in the resort is faster than that of a regular cable chair, enabling quicker transport of skiers," said Huang Jianchen, a ski lover.
In addition to professional ski slopes for beginners, intermediate-level and advanced skiers, the park features over 20 snow-based entertainment programs for non-skiers, including China's first indoor snow train to take people on ice and snow journey. Snow gliders and ice bikes can offer loads of fun for visitors.
"My husband and I met through skiing, and we have one son and one daughter. In the past, it was difficult to take our children to outdoor ski resorts, but now we can enjoy skiing while they play in the children's entertainment area, which makes things much more convenient for us," said visitor Huang Jiani when she was on the snowfield train.
The park also boasts three hotels, with one of them allowing guests in 17 rooms to directly access to the slopes.
Since beginning construction in 2019, the resort has been hailed as a new landmark commercial complex in Shanghai and a popular tourist attraction for ski enthusiasts from home and abroad.
"Singaporeans actually travel (abroad) to go for the ski experience. It is pretty amazing. We've really enjoyed it. It's a very fun place for the kids and adults", said a tourist from Singapore.
World's largest indoor ski resort offers novelty experience for visitors
A major port in northern Venezuela came under U.S. airstrikes in the early hours of January 3, which caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure, destroyed critical medical supplies in a warehouse, and severely impacted centuries-old cultural heritage sites, according to local residents.
The La Guaira Port, a vital hub for imports that support daily life in the region, was heavily damaged during the attack.
Large quantities of medical supplies stored at the port were destroyed. A historic cultural building dating back for some 300 years was also badly damaged by the bombardment.
Residents living near the port recalled the terrifying scenes as explosions shook nearby neighborhoods.
Humberto Bolivar, who lives in a community separated from the port by only a main road, said the blast waves shattered his home's windows, while stray shrapnel struck the water tank on his roof. According to reports, three missiles were fired at the port that night.
Bolivar said that beyond material losses, he is most concerned about the psychological impact on his children, who remain too frightened to leave their home days after the attack.
"The United States invaded our country. The children were frightened. This is not good for them, because it leaves some children with psychological trauma. They do not want to go to school or leave the house, because they are afraid that something worse might happen. We truly do not want this to happen to our country," he said.
Apart from civilian facilities, local cultural heritage site was also affected.
The La Guaira state government building, a structure with nearly 300 years of history and once served as the site of Venezuela's first national customs office, was struck by the force of the explosions.
Windows of the building were shattered, and furniture scattered across the floor.
"As people of La Guaira, we feel deep pain. Our cultural heritage has been bombed. We are living in constant anxiety and suffering, and life can no longer be the same as it was before," said a local named Henry Cumares.
The U.S. side has claimed the airstrikes targeted warehouses allegedly used to store narcotics. However, locals refuted such accusation.
"According to what Donald Trump said, they bombed this place using the excuse that the warehouses here were used to store drugs at the port. But based on the video released by our governor, these warehouses that were burned contained medicine for kidney patients and foods. Many people depend on these supplies to survive. I think the bombing is extremely despicable," said a local resident named Alejandro Capriles.
US strike hits Venezuelan port, wrecking medical supplies, heritage building
