Vasaloppet China 2025 opened, drawing competitors from home and abroad. Simultaneously, the Changchun Ice and Snow Festival kicked off, warmly welcoming guests from all corners. Since the start of the 2024-2025 snow season, Changchun has planned a comprehensive ice and snow product pattern, featuring "one core, two new scenes, four resorts, ten parks, and multiple attractions". The large-scale, high-quality, and systematic ice and snow tourism product portfolio has attracted a continuous influx of domestic and international tourists. Ice and snow tourism remains a major hit, driving rapid growth in cultural tourism consumption.

 

Unlocking Ice and Snow Resources to Develop Featured Projects

 

On the strength of its unique ice and snow resources, Changchun is fully committed to developing its ice and snow economy. During the 2024-2025 snow season, the city has introduced "one core" (Changchun New World of Ice and Snow), "two new scenes" (Changchun World Sculpture Park Ice and Snow Project and Xinmin Street Ice and Snow Scenes), "four resorts" (Lianhua Mountain, Tianding Mountain, Miaoxiang Mountain, and Jingyuetan Ski Resorts), "ten parks" (including Jingyuetan Snow World, Changchun New Area · Beihu Penguin Village, Lotus Island Film and Television Leisure Culture Park, Nanxili Four Seasons Snow PARK, and Black Myth: Wukong · Extreme Snow Realm), and other unique tourism attractions like the "Meet the Ten-Thousand-Meter Ice River" project along the Yitong River. Currently, Changchun's diverse ice and snow tourism attractions are spread throughout the city, each offering unique and distinctive experiences.

 

Changchun is actively exploring the immense economic, social, ecological, and cultural value of its icy landscapes, while continuously advancing the integration of "Ice and Snow + Sports", "Ice and Snow + Tourism", and "Ice and Snow + Culture". Focusing on "Ice and Snow + Performing Arts", the Lotus Island Film and Television Leisure Culture Park has launched the thematic event "Hot Changchun", a showcase of ice and snow traditions in Northeast China. Tourists can enjoy immersive performances, savor traditional northeastern iron pot stews, admire intangible cultural heritage firework displays, and engage in exciting ice and snow activities, all while soaking up the rich atmosphere of northeastern customs and ice and snow culture. The four major ski resorts, emphasizing "Ice and Snow + Sports", are not only ideal destinations for tourists to learn and enjoy skiing but also actively promote the sport by hosting various skiing competitions, inspiring more people to embrace skiing. Jingyuetan Snow World, which gained popularity for its stunning "blue ice" and "frozen blossoms", is renowned for its "Ice and Snow + Tourism" offerings. Tourists can admire snow sculptures, capture snowy landscapes, ride snow tubes, and immerse themselves in the magnificent ice and snow scenery of the North while enjoying the endless fun of an icy wonderland.

 

These distinctive tourism attractions greatly enrich the winter lives of citizens and tourists alike, injecting vitality into Changchun's booming ice and snow economy.

 

Led by International Events, Elevating the Ice and Snow Economy to New Heights

 

While actively developing unique ice and snow tourism projects, Changchun has leveraged international events as a driving force to propel high-quality development of the ice and snow industry in the city and across Jilin Province. This strategy has opened new opportunities for Changchun's opening up and expanded its global influence.

 

At the start of this year, Vasaloppet China 2025 was held in Changchun. As the "platinum brand" of Changchun's ice and snow culture, this international event has evolved from a single competitive race into a comprehensive international activity that integrates professional competitions, winter sports, cultural exchange, and business cooperation. It has attracted over 13,000 athletes and ski enthusiasts from 33 countries and regions, while engaging 1.15 million participants in winter sports activities. Upon completion of the competition in Changchun, Worldloppet CEO Epp Paal highly praised both the city and the ski facilities in Jingyuetan National Scenic Area.

 

Over two decades of dedicated cultivation and development, Vasaloppet China has steadily grown in scale, participation, and influence, inspiring increasing numbers of citizens and tourists to visit Changchun's ski resorts and ice and snow tourism destinations and significantly boosting the ice and snow economy. With the broad platform created by this event, Changchun has actively engaged in business negotiations and fostered in-depth communication and collaboration with domestic and international business partners to pursue shared growth. By accelerating progress on the ice and snow economy, Changchun has ensured its ice and snow tourism brand shines brightly on the global stage.

 

Building an Industrial Leading Position to Achieve Year-Round, All-for-One Tourism

 

With distinctive ice and snow brands and products as the foundation, Changchun's ice and snow tourism has driven the growth of related industries such as dining, accommodation, and transportation. According to comprehensive estimates, during the 2023-2024 snow season, Changchun welcomed nearly 60 million tourists and generated tourism revenue of RMB 112.539 billion, becoming a new engine of economic growth. Today, as a beautiful business card of the city, ice and snow tourism has become one of the key drivers of Changchun's economic development.

 

In Changchun, each season offers its own unique charm—from the joy of spring outings and the delight of summer retreats to the beauty of autumn foliage and the allure of winter ice and snow. The city's cultural tourism resources are fully utilized throughout the year. Data from 2024 reveals that Changchun organized over 1,000 events, including summer camping activities, cultural performances, and ice and snow festivals. The total number of visitors and tourism revenue increased by 15.6% and 24.4%, respectively. These impressive figures not only highlight the rapid growth of Changchun's cultural tourism sector but also reflect its remarkable success in tapping into the potential of cultural tourism consumption and driving consumer demand in this sector.

 

Focusing on the comprehensive elements of "dining, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, shopping, and entertainment", and leveraging the concepts of "tourism+" and "+tourism" across the entire chain, Changchun is actively expanding its tourism offerings citywide. It strives to establish a leading position in the cultural tourism industry for all-for-one and year-round tourism, and transition from an "ice and snow boom" to "year-round prosperity".