Top Chinese winter sports destination sees Southeast Asian visitor surge

Chongli District in Zhangjiakou, a co-host city of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in north China's Hebei Province, is receiving a surging number of visitors from Southeast Asia, as the country steps up to boost its ice and snow economy.

With its impressive elevation and diverse range of ski slopes catering to both beginners and experienced skiers, Chongli, which hosted Olympic alpine skiing, snowboarding, and freestyle events during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, has seen ice and snow tourism orders multiply this winter, nearly 70 percent of which from Southeast Asian countries.

In addition to the simplified entry and streamlined immigration policies, and upgraded infrastructure and services, these China-bound Southeast Asian travelers are also drawn by a series of international competitions taking place in Chongli from December to January.

A popular destination for both elite winter sports athletes and passionate fans is the Yunding Snow Park, which stands out as a national symbol of China's rapidly growing snow sports culture and world-class event infrastructure.

Last Saturday, the park received a tour group consisting of over 1,000 people from several Southeast Asian countries.

"We've also arranged our catering services, offering a wider selection of Southeast Asian cuisines to cater to the guests from different countries. We've also hired many bilingual instructors," said Ke Yang, who heads the media division of the Yunding Snow Park's marketing department.

The park's hospitality facilities and services, languages included, and professional coach teams are also widely acclaimed by Chinese and foreign visitors alike.

"I come from Singapore. This is my first time skiing in China. I think the ski resorts in China are huge, the facilities are excellent, and the food is delicious. I'm having an amazing time," a Singaporean tourist said.

"This is my second time here. My first time was in March this year. The best thing about it for Malaysian Chinese is that we don't have any language barriers," said another tourist from Malaysia.

"This is the first large-scale entry involving over 1,000 people. Before this, we had received more than a dozen Southeast Asian tour groups in Chongli who came to experience skiing. After returning to Southeast Asia, they spread the word, arousing the interest of many customers, which is why a lot of them want to come and see for themselves," said Liu Di, manager of a local travel agency.

Top Chinese winter sports destination sees Southeast Asian visitor surge

The 2025 China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair and Convention on Exchange of Overseas Talents concluded in Guangzhou City of south China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday, with fruitful results achieved.

The two major events were jointly held for the first time this year, accelerating and deepening the integration of talent, technology, and industry.

During the two-day event, several major ranking lists were released, including the list of future unicorn companies in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the list of unicorn innovation enterprises in Guangzhou, and the list of most influential emerging overseas returnee startups in 2025.

Notably, a total of 210 companies from Guangzhou were selected for the list of unicorn innovation enterprises, with 162 of them being high-tech enterprises, representing nearly 80 percent of the total.

Meanwhile, a number of outstanding enterprises and projects were identified through two innovation and entrepreneurship competitions during the event, receiving benefits such as prize money, in-depth incubation, and the matching of resources. "Both the Greater Bay Area and the municipal government of Guangzhou are very supportive, encouraging everyone to pursue innovation and empowering our innovative enterprises in terms of capital and platform," said Xu Qixuan, a representative of a participating company.

"We have engaged in in-depth discussions with various top-notch biotechnology companies across the country, and as a result, we have developed some new ideas for future project collaboration and development," said Cao Guangcan, a representative of another participating company.

A large number of students returned from studying abroad and overseas talents flocked to the recruitment fair. Job seekers not only find their preferred companies and positions but, more importantly, gain a deeper understanding of the development of the Greater Bay Area, particularly in Guangzhou, through this platform.

"Back in the homeland, I learned that there should be numerous job opportunities in the Greater Bay Area, especially in Nansha District. Therefore, I'm considering looking for opportunities in Guangzhou or Guangdong," said a job seeker.

"I think that Guangzhou offers a vast platform with favorable policies for overseas Chinese students. The city has also hosted many job fairs for overseas Chinese students. I think this is very good," said another job seeker.

Guangzhou holds event to deepen integration of talent, innovation, industry