Residents in the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin, which is abundant in ice and snow resources, can now participate in winter sports more conveniently without bothering to travel afar to a suburban area for skating or skiing, as the urban areas in the province have all improved their sports infrastructure to encourage related spending.
In the provincial capital Changchun, a newly opened urban ski area is open to increasing numbers of sports fans who previously had to drive an hour or so to reach a ski resort on the outskirts of the city.
"I really enjoy coming here to have fun, and my parents particularly bought me skiing equipment," said Lv Xinrui, a young skier.
Local authorities said they hope the arrival of growing numbers of visitors in the sports venue will help boost the development of nearby industries.
"Planning and building the ski area helps integrate ice and snow sports into the urban life and into the lives of our residents. This will also drive development of the ice and snow industry, sales of winter sports gear, and development of the tourism and catering sectors in the vicinity," said Wang Xiaoyan, deputy director of the Changchun Municipal Sport Administration.
Besides, an ice rink of 26,000 square meters in Changchun has been open to the public free of charge since Jan 5.
"This public ice rink is truly what we need, and many people enjoy skating together on their ice skates here," said Yao Jingyu, a skater.
Since the start of 2026, Jilin has added over 50 free ice rinks in urban areas.
During this year's New Year holiday, which ran from Jan 1 to 3, Jilin received over eight million domestic tourist visits, leading to a total spending of more than nine billion yuan (about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars).
Wider access to ice, snow sports fuels spending surge in northeast China's Jilin
