The newly built Mazong Mountain Ski Resort opens on Dec 26. [Photo by Xu Ting/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The newly built Mazong Mountain Ski Resort in Hohhot, capital city of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, officially opened its door on Dec 26.

Its debut marked the start of Hohhot’s winter season this year, which features more than 30 activities involving ice sculpture exhibitions, ice and snow carnivals, as well as ice and snow sightseeing and sports.

It’s a move by the Hohhot government to respond to the call by the State to encourage the public to participate in ice and snow activities and to turn the local rich ice and snow resources into an economic driving force.

An enthusiast snowboards down at top speed, at the new Mazong Mountain Ski Resort. [Photo by Xu Ting/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Mazong Mountain Ski Resort was jointly built by the Hohhot municipal government and developer Vanke Group. It is a winter leisure complex integrating skiing, vacations, professional events, research and other functions.

Its open skiing area covers 331,300 square meters, offering 10 tracks with a total length of 5 kilometers.

Support facilities in the ski report include skiing halls, restaurants and themed homestays.

Skiers of all ages have a ball at the new Mazong Mountain Ski Resort on its first day. [Photo by Xu Ting/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]