The General Office of the State Council issued guidelines on Oct 31 for high-quality development of ice and snow sport facilities. It proposed that by 2027, the facilities for ice and snow sports will be more complete, ice and snow sports more widely practiced across the country, and the total scale of the national ice and snow economy will reach 1.2 trillion yuan ($167.25 billion).

Ice and snow sports are becoming popular in the country after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The ice and snow sports and related industries are becoming emerging growth drivers.

During a routine policy briefing of the State Council, it was stated that in the post-Winter Olympics era, the General Administration of Sport of China will increase the supply of ice and snow sports products and services, promote ice and snow sports, and continuously encourage 300 million people to enjoy the sports. The key lies in encouraging youth participation. But the lack of relevant infrastructure is a problem in some places.

The document explicitly proposes strengthening the construction of ice and snow sports facilities. It encourages localities to adapt measures and make use of parks, trails, urban squares, and other public lands to build ice and snow sport facilities for the public. It also says that supporting qualified primary and secondary schools to incorporate ice and snow sports into their physical education and health curriculum as special sports projects, establishing a comprehensive youth competition system for ice and snow events, and encouraging general higher education institutions to promote ice and snow sports can stimulate youth participation.

Many regions are now investing heavily in ice and snow sport facilities. Various such facilities are coming up in southern regions such as Guangdong, Fujian and Sichuan provinces and Chongqing municipality.

According to the guidelines, by 2030, a number of high-quality destinations for ice and snow sports and tourism will be established and the total scale of the ice and snow economy will reach 1.5 trillion yuan. The future of the ice and snow economy undoubtedly holds great promise.

THEPAPER.CN