Participating intelligent vehicles wait at the competition's starting line on Jan 13. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The climax of the Changchun International Driverless Vehicle Ice and Snow Challenge - the urban ice and snow challenge - was staged on Jan 13 at the national intelligent vehicle (North China) pilot zone in Changchun, the capital of Northeast China's Jilin province.

The contest venue's 2.2-kilometer track included 18 typical winter traffic conditions of North China cities. The activity served as an excellent test for intelligent vehicles by combining various snow-and ice-related road conditions.

Nineteen intelligent vehicle teams from all over the country were initially registered to participate, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 13 of them partook in the contest. They came from vehicle enterprises, start-ups, universities and scientific research institutions and gathered in Changchun to compete and communicate with each other.

In the competition, the primary vehicles were self-driving cars modified from passenger cars. Most of the cars are intended to serve as driverless taxis.

Many cities in China have started to explore the driverless taxi business. Despite this, the urban ice and snow challenge is still the first opportunity for these cars to compete in the icy and snowy environments of northern Chinese cities.

Members of one participating team said that the competition's "snowfall scenerio" is the most common and dangerous winter driving challenge. They added that, it is beneficial to improve vehicles' automatic driving ability and promote the industry's commercial development by practicing and solving problems in a closed and controlled environment.

Participants also expressed the hope that the professional testing institutions in the pilot zone and across the country can continue to provide diverse testing environments to help develop the driverless vehicle industry.