Jilin Writes A New Chapter in Winter Tourism With 9th Ice & Snow Industry International Expo

The 9th Jilin Ice and Snow Industry International Expo was recently held at the Changchun Northeast Asia International Expo Center, marking the launch of a new winter tourism season in northeast China's Jilin Province.

This has garnered significant attention and support from countries and cities known for their ice and snow landscapes, with representatives from nine countries including France, Ireland, Switzerland, Finland, and Canada attending the event.

Christian Pichoud, former president of Ecrins National Park of France and a member of the Alpine Region Committee, is visiting Changchun for the first time and he absolutely loves this city of ice and snow. Tomorrow, he will be heading to experience Jilin's ski resorts.

Serge Koenig, director of the International Affairs Department at the National School of Mountain Sports, French Ministry of Sports, is visiting Jilin for the fifth time. Having traveled to many provinces in China and almost all the high mountains, he believes that Jilin's ice and snow facilities are even better. The temperatures are not as cold, and the ski slopes are longer. He suggests cultivating highly skilled skiing instructors and guides to attract more people to come and ski in Jilin.

The expo is currently the only snow-themed expo in China and is the largest and most influential ice and snow industry trade fair in Northeast China.

Since its inception in 2016, the expo has been held six times, aiming to accelerate the development of Jilin's distinctive modern ice and snow industry, encompassing ice and snow tourism, sports, culture, and equipment.

The expo features six sections with a total of 32 activities. It kicked off with an opening ceremony, roundtable conference, and the China Tourism Development Forum with 50 participants.

Nearly 400 ice and snow cultural, tourism, sports, trade, and equipment events will be held across the province.

Held under the theme "New Ice-and-Snow Consumption, Shared New Future," the five-day expo adopted a market-oriented model and brought together exhibitions, interactive experiences and consumer activities, creating an immersive winter carnival engaging sight, sound and taste alike.

Jin Zhenlin, deputy director of the Jilin Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism noted that the expo attracted participants from more than 20 countries. Over 400 enterprises and 500 brands showcased more than 1,000 products, making it the largest professional ice-and-snow exhibition in China in terms of scale and participation. Preferential activities, study tours and winter sports competitions were deeply integrated, highlighting both product display and consumption-driven growth.

To further stimulate the winter economy, Jilin has rolled out a series of targeted policies for the new snow season, including ice-and-snow consumption vouchers. These incentives are applied across key scenarios such as skiing, scenic attractions, concerts and transportation, helping to precisely unlock winter consumption potential.

This season has also seen major upgrades to the province's winter sports infrastructure. Jilin now operates 68 ski resorts, with expanded ski run areas, longer slopes and more cableways, achieving full county-level coverage of ice-and-snow experiences. The province leads the nation with five national-level ski tourism resorts.

Changchun Ice and Snow World features landmark attractions such as themed snow drifting routes and giant ice slides, blending sightseeing, interaction and entertainment into a dreamlike winter setting.

Jilin is promoting the G331 Border Ice-and-Snow Road and a snow-sculpture version of the "Cloud Palace" at Changbai Mountain. In western Jilin, the Chagan Lake winter fishing economy is revitalizing centuries-old fishing traditions with new immersive activities, while Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture has launched nine themed ice-and-snow products, inviting visitors to explore what it calls a "breathing ice-and-snow gallery."

For the current season, Jilin aims to welcome 180 million ice-and-snow visits and generate over 330 billion yuan in tourism revenue, moving closer to its goal of becoming a world-class ice-and-snow tourism destination and showcasing the unique charm of its "white mountains and clear waters."