Northeast China's Jilin Province, which is abundant in ice and snow resources, will launch a unique "ice and snow holiday" particularly tailored for all primary and middle school students from December 3 to 7, offering free winter sports experiences and cultural tourism discounts to encourage youth participation in ice-snow activities.
The five-day break, in addition to the usual winter and summer break, will create more time for students to enjoy winter sports and activities.
During the five-day break, all students in primary and middle schools across the province will be off campus with no classes or written homework assigned.
Local governments will roll out limited-time incentives, including free entry for students and ticket discounts for accompanying parents.
During the break, students can enjoy three hours of free skiing or skating daily at designated venues with valid identification such as an ID card or household registration booklet.
They will also enjoy free visit to A-level scenic spots that only open in winter.
Accompanying parents can receive 30 percent off ski passes and first-gate tickets for A-level scenic spots when scanning a QR code on site, with a maximum discount of 300 yuan (about 41.3 U.S. dollars) per ticket.
"We have organized 39 ski resorts and ice rinks with operation qualifications, as well as 171 A-level tourist attractions, more than 80 museums, art galleries and cultural centers, to participate in this 'ice and snow holiday' program. We invite students and their parents to experience ice-snow tourism, ice-snow culture and ice-snow equipment," said Jin Zhenlin, Deputy Director-General of Jilin Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.
Meanwhile, enterprises and public institutions are encouraged to adopt flexible paid leave arrangements, allowing parents to take staggered or split vacations to accompany their children. Unused leave may be carried over to the next year.
In order to further stimulate enthusiasm towards snow and ice sports among the young people, Jilin Province will also launch a series of other sports programs.
"We will systematically host youth ice-snow events that cover multiple dimensions such as competitions, hands-on experiences and training, attracting more young people to participate in them, and promoting popularization and development of ice-snow sports," said Li Chongsheng, director of the Youth Sports Division, the Jilin Provincial Sports Bureau.
Northeast China's Jilin launches additional ice-snow holiday tailored for students
