Mohe, China’s northernmost city in Heilongjiang province, experiences March temperatures that still plunge below minus 20 degrees Celsius. Historically, defined by its extreme location and bitter cold, the city once faced significant development challenges.
Today, however, Mohe’s frigid climate is becoming a powerful economic driver. It attracts tourists seeking the unique “northernmost China” experience and fosters a booming vehicle-testing industry tailored to cold regions.
The ice-and-snow economy is injecting strong momentum in China’s high-quality development while reshaping the global winter sports industry and opening a window of opportunity for the world.
While the global ice-and-snow industry has been uneven, the rapid rise of the Chinese market is lifting confidence across the sector.
In 2025, the total size of China’s ice-and-snow economy surpassed 1 trillion yuan ($144.92 billion) for the first time, nearly quadrupling in size over the past decade.
During the 2025-2026 winter season, ice-and-snow leisure tourism trips are expected to reach 360 million, generating revenue of 450 billion yuan.
China has become the world’s most promising market for winter consumption and one of the few regions maintaining rapid growth.
China is continuously expanding the boundaries of its ice-and-snow economy, charting a sustainable path for the global industry.
In Huanren Manchu autonomous county, northeast China’s Liaoning province, local efforts to develop icewine production have turned the region’s specialty into a sought-after “purple gold.”
In Liupanshui, southwest China’s Guizhou province, high-altitude skiing has been combined with rural cultural tourism to fashion the area into a distinctive “southern ice-and-snow destination.”
Meanwhile, Chengdu of Sichuan province in southwest China has rolled out a ski-and-hot-springs experience, drawing visitors from across the country.
These homegrown innovations demonstrate to the world the vast potential of deeply integrating winter industries with technological development and cultural tourism.
As noted by U.S. independent journal Eurasia Review, the “cold economy” is no longer a seasonal curiosity; it is a permanent and growing component of China’s economy, providing a blueprint for how leisure consumption can drive high-tech manufacturing and regional growth in the 21st century.
The rise of China’s trillion-yuan ice-and-snow economy is also creating shared opportunities for global businesses.
German multinational Bosch has opened its largest Asia-Pacific automotive winter test center in Yakeshi, north China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, taking advantage of the area’s extreme climate for vehicle testing.
TechnoAlpin, Italy’s manufacturer of snowmaking systems, plans to build its fourth-largest equipment center in China, leveraging the domestic market to serve surrounding regions.
Doppelmayr Group, an Austrian manufacturer of ropeways and people movers for ski areas, has participated in the construction and operation of nine aerial ropeways at the National Alpine Skiing Center in Beijing’s Yanqing District.
From equipment manufacturing to tourism services, China’s dynamic winter market is becoming a preferred destination for global industry players seeking long-term growth.
China’s booming ice-and-snow economy vividly reflects how the country, in this new era, is contributing to the world through its own high-quality development. At a time when the global economy urgently needs new growth drivers, China is extending a sincere invitation for win-win cooperation, fueled by the vast potential of its super-sized market and the vitality of innovation-driven growth.
Looking ahead, China will continue to create new opportunities for global development, working with all countries to build a better shared future.
By He Yin
Source: People’s Daily
