Chills and thrills

A snowboarder at Yabuli ski resort in Heilongjiang province.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Eastern areas, such as Hulun Buir, Hinggan and Xilingol, host horse races, hot springs and slopes. The warmer west, including the capital, Hohhot, enables outdoor activities like temple fairs, lantern shows and religious rituals.

In Lengjicun, known as "China's coldest village" in Inner Mongolia's Genhe city, where temperatures dive below -40 C, visitors enjoy tossing hot water from glasses to see it freeze into "frost flowers" midair, Dong says.

Aoluguya offers deer encounters. Arxan and the Greater Hinggan Mountains shine with rime.

Inner Mongolia's local government plans to expand ski resorts, and the Matryoshka Plaza, featuring Russian restaurants and art performances.

"We'll support locals offering household catering and accommodation services," Dong says.

Despite its general lack of snow, even Beijing saw an 8.6 percent increase over last year's visits to ski resorts.

Hebei province's Chongli county's visits increased by over 17 percent to 180,000 tourists, who mostly came to ski.

Even southern China received more snow-seeking tourists.

January's international children's ski festival at Xilin Snow Mountain in Sichuan province's capital, Chengdu, helped it become southern China's hottest winter tourism spot, says a report from Chinese online travel-service provider Lvmama.

The report explains those born in the '80s have been the major force behind winter tourism.

Qin says he'll explore other frigid destinations if his son maintains interest in winter sports.

The recent cold months' visitor records suggest he's far from alone in the icy seasons to come.

China has caught winter fever.