HUANGPU SHANGHAI

Passengers walk past the train Y965, a passenger train for ice and snow travel, at Urumqi station in Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Dec 28, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xinjiang has also proposed building an ice-and-snow tourism economic development core area relying on Urumqi and Altay. On Dec 28, 2022, the first ice-and-snow tourism train set off from Urumqi to Fuyun, with a stop in Altay.

"It's becoming more convenient and faster for tourists from outside Xinjiang to travel to Altay to ski. They can choose to transit via the cities of Urumqi, Xi'an and Lanzhou, or fly directly from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen," said Dai Xingxing, deputy general manager of Xinjiang Altay Tourism Group.

The boom in ice-and-snow tourism is bringing more business opportunities to local equipment manufacturers.

Dozens of machines in the factory of Xinjiang Huatong Taike Play Equipment Co., Ltd. are running at full capacity to produce a range of ski equipment.

"We sell the ski equipment, such as the ski ropeways, not only to scenic spots and snow resorts in Xinjiang, but to other regions in China," said Wang Wen, head of the company. "We benefit a lot from the thriving ice-and-snow tourism industry."