Ski resorts across Xinjiang have seen a surge in visitors since the onset of winter, injecting strong momentum to the region's ice and snow economy.
In recent days, Jiangjunshan Mountain Ski Resort in Altay City has seen a surge in visitors, receiving more than 10,000 people daily.
To accommodate the peak crowds, all of its 61 ski runs, along halfpipes, all-terrain park, mogul runs, and ski jumps, have been fully opened to meet demand from skiers and snowboarders of all levels.
The resort is also continuously developing new experiences, including balloon rides and paragliding, allowing visitors to view the mountainous landscape from high above. Another unique option is ice floating, where visitors wear special whole-body suits and dip into freezing waters. At night, skiers can continue to hit the lit-up slopes or spend the evening at a mountain-top DJ party.
Since the start of the snow season, local ski resorts have received over one million visitors, up over 23 percent year on year. Xinjiang is capitalizing on this popularity, rolling out over 500 distinctive cultural tourism events during this snow season, spannig winter sports, folk customs, educational study tours, and cultural performances.
Xinjiang ski resorts enter peak season
The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.
The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.
Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.
"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.
Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.
Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.
"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.
Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight
