Enchanting Shangri-La beckons visitors with winter tourism attractions

The renowned tourist destination of Shangri-La in southwest China's Yunnan Province is tapping into the potential of its abundant snow resources and offering up unique intangible cultural heritage experiences as it looks to draw in numerous visitors to explore its winter allure.

With its stunning scenery and rich tourism resources, Shangri-la has long been a popular place for visitors from far and wide, and now the site is looking to further boost its winter economy with a more diverse array of recreational activities.

Its tourism industry was given a major boost in 2023 with the opening of the Lijiang-Shangri-La Railway, a key 140-kilometer train route linking the city of Lijiang to Shangri-La, which also connects to the main line reaching Yunnan's provincial capital Kunming.

Shangri-La also now boasts a well-equipped ski resort and family-friendly playgrounds, enabling visitors of all ages to enjoy winter sports against the spectacular backdrops of the snowy plateau.

"Seeing the snowy landscape for the first time is truly special for me, and it's a lot of fun," said one tourist.

In addition to these snow and ice activities, local authorities have also developed seasonal scenic routes, which include breathtaking views of the golden sunrise appearing over the region's snow-capped mountain peaks.

Visitors can also enjoy cozy accommodation with a stay in traditional local-style courtyards and immerse themselves in local intangible cultural heritage experiences. This includes giving tourists the chance to learn traditional handicrafts like the art of black clay pottery making from local masters.

Enchanting Shangri-La beckons visitors with winter tourism attractions

Even under assumptions that the U.S.-Israel war on Iran does not persist past April and that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz gradually resumes, the world will face the pressure of rising oil prices throughout this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday.

In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook released on Tuesday, the EIA raised the forecast of Brent crude oil spot price for 2026 to 96 U.S. dollars per barrel from the previous forecast of 79 U.S. dollars a barrel.

Retail gasoline and diesel prices will continue the rising trend this year, said the outlook.

The outlook maintains a risk premium on crude oil prices throughout the forecast period, as the EIA expects uncertainty around future supply disruptions to keep prices above pre-conflict levels.

"Once flows through the Strait of Hormuz resume, we assume it will take time to resolve the backlog and disruption to oil tanker routes and trade flows and that the potential for future disruptions will remain at risk and create a premium in the oil price," it said.

US Energy Information Administration forecasts rising oil prices throughout 2026