Province works to preserve its black-and-white wonders

Tourism

Located in the "golden latitude" for ice and snow, Jilin has seized the opportunity to make the best use of its natural resources.

Winter cultural tourism such as the snowy landscapes of Changbai Mountain, rime-filled scenery along the Songhua River and winter fishing in Chagan Lake are well-known at home and abroad.

Jilin's ice and snow fields also attract tourists from across the country. During the 2019-20 snow season, three ski resorts－Vanke Songhua Lake, Jilin Beidahu and Wanda Changbaishan－received a combined 1.1 million visitors, accounting for 44 percent of total tourist numbers at large ski resorts across the country, according to a report in Economic Information Daily.

"We need to turn cold resources into a hot industry and encourage potential tourists from the south to travel north," said Yang Andi, director of the Jilin Culture and Tourism Bureau.

"Jilin has natural powder snowfields. The tourism sector in our province aims to emulate the world's best-known ski resorts, including the Rocky Mountains in the United States and the Alps in Europe."

The region can build an international platform for ice and snow culture, economy, sports and trade, she added.

In December, the Fifth Jilin International Ice and Snow Industry Expo was held in Changchun, featuring nearly 80 venues and more than 400 participating businesses. During the New Year Holiday, from Jan 1 to 3, the Chagan Lake scenic spot received about 30,000 tourists, the lake's management committee said.

The spot, in Qian Gorlors Mongolian autonomous county, features ice-hole fishing, an activity that dates back to the Liao (916-1125) and Jin (1115-1234) dynasties.