1. Introduction to the Project

1.1 Project background

1.1.1 Product introduction

The ice and snow experience center constructed by the project is a new type of ice and snow experience center that integrates multi-functional spaces and complementary formats of “full-age participation, interactive experience, characteristic skiing, and sightseeing”. It not only includes skiing and snow entertainment functions, but will also include multiple formats such as commercial, leisure, and cultural in the future, helping to create a new generation of national ice and snow themed consumption destinations.

1.1.2 Market prospect

1. Analysis of the overall situation of national ice and snow tourism consumption

(1) Supply quality improvement and expansion to support high-quality development of the industry

The successful hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics has greatly stimulated investment in the ice and snow tourism industry and the enthusiasm for consumption in various formats. Ice and snow tourism has gradually shifted from “whether it exists” to “whether it is good or not”. This change is first reflected in the continuous expansion of China’s ice and snow tourism supply scale and the continuous improvement of quality experience. In 2023, there was a total of 2847 ice and snow sports venues in China, including 1912 ice skating venues and 935 skiing venues. Compared to 2022, the number of ice and snow sports venues increased by 16.11% in 2023, with skiing venues growing by 6.74% and skating venues growing by 21.32%. As of the National Day holiday in 2024, Chinese Mainland opened 65 indoor ski resorts (6 closed), 80% of which are micro and small ski resorts, serving local tourism services and the popularization of ice and snow sports. The construction of large indoor ski resorts is showing an explosive trend, with only 3 by September 2024 and an expected increase to 8 by the end of 2025. From the perspective of tourism investment, from 2018 to 2023, the total investment scale of China’s ice and snow tourism heavy asset projects reached 123.2 billion yuan, providing effective support for the steady growth of tourism consumption. In terms of regional distribution, the concentration of investment in ice and snow tourism in the northwest, east, and northeast of China has further increased.

In addition to the overall increase in supply scale, the online rate of the ice and snow tourism industry has also been continuously improving in recent years, and the convenience and comfort of tourists’ consumption have also been improved. More and more ice and snow tourism venues, amusement parks, etc. are jointly built and shared with online platforms in terms of data, resources, etc. They use group buying, live streaming, pre-sale and other methods to carry out a series of innovative marketing, allowing tourists to easily book tickets, accommodation, catering, entertainment and other projects of ice and snow tourism scenic spots through online channels, better meeting consumer needs. According to Meituan data, during the 2023 snow season, the total supply of ice and snow tourism projects included and traded online on the Meituan platform increased by 39.3% year-on-year. Both ski resorts and mass ice and snow tourism leisure projects showed a growth trend, with the number of ski resorts online increasing by 8.6% compared to 2019 and mass ice and snow tourism leisure projects increasing by 150.3% compared to 2019. This reflects the potential for digital development and also shows that China’s ice and snow industry is gradually entering a “virtuous cycle of consumption and investment mutual promotion”.

Figure 1 Trend Chart of Online Supply Changes in National Ice and Snow Tourism Projects from 2019 to 2023

(2) Ice and snow tourism consumption inspires a new chapter in ice and snow tourism

In 2023, entering the post-Winter Olympics era, China’s ice and snow tourism consumption continued its previous high growth trend. The Research Report on the Development of China’s Ice and Snow Industry (2024) shows that during the 2023-2024 ice and snow season, the number of ice and snow leisure tourists in China exceeded 385 million.

According to Meituan data, the total consumption of ice and snow tourism in China during the 2023 ice and snow season increased by 17.1% year-on-year compared to the 2022 season, and by 132.5% compared to the same period in 2019; if the growth of ice and snow tourism consumption in November and December, 2023 alone is observed, it is even stronger, with an increase of 323.5% and 262.3%, respectively compared to the same period in 2022 and 2019. Monthly data shows that the end of each year and the beginning of each year are the peak periods for ice and snow tourism consumption. The order volume of ice and snow tourism consumption in January, February, and December accounts for nearly three-quarters of the total order volume of the year, and the order volume of ski resort tourism consumption in these three months accounts for about 90% of the total order volume of the year. Compared to skiing tourism that requires higher demands for venues, climate, and leisure time, snow and ice leisure and entertainment projects such as snow world, snow park, and skating rink, which are more inclined towards the general public and more evenly distributed throughout the year. During the summer vacation and National Day holidays, there are also many consumers who engage in indoor ice and snow sports leisure experiences. In recent years, the development trend of “professional sports+mass entertainment” ice and snow tourism has become more significant.

(3) Analysis of consumers’ characteristics of ice and snow tourism

In 2023, cross-city and cross-provincial tourism consumption rapidly recovered. According to data from the Meituan platform, during the ice and snow season in the second half of 2023, the proportion of cross city tourists’ consumption nationwide reached 49.1%, an increase of 15.2 percentage points compared to 2022. From the distribution of ice and snow tourism source cities across the country, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and other cities became the top ten ice and snow tourism source cities in 2023. Tourists in the south of China heading north in winter to experience the ice and snow scenery of the north has gradually become a trend.

According to Meituan data, from the age structure of ice and snow tourism consumers, in the ice and snow season of 2023, young people became the main consumers, with nearly 3% of users under the age of 20, 22% of users aged 20-25, and nearly 80% of users under the age of 35. Ice and snow tourism has become an increasingly popular consumption activity among young people.

The successful hosting of the Winter Olympics has further stimulated the enthusiasm of various consumer groups to enjoy ice and snow, and many ice skating rinks, ski resorts, snow worlds, snow parks and other projects have also been favored by more parents. According to data from the Meituan platform, based on the overall characteristics of national ice and snow tourism consumers in 2023, the proportion of parent-child users reached 10.6%, an increase of 3.6 percentage points compared to 2022. Ice and snow tourism is increasingly showing a trend of “family fun”. In terms of gender ratio, female tourists account for 53.5% of consumption, slightly higher than male consumers.

(4) Integrated development of multiple business formats generates comprehensive driving effects.

Tourism is an industry with strong comprehensive driving force. Although ice and snow tourism and leisure rely on “ice and snow scenery, ice and snow sports” and other core attractions, its rapid development in recent years cannot be separated from the cross-scene integration of various consumer formats such as catering, accommodation, entertainment, leisure, and shopping in tourist destinations. According to Meituan data, in the second half of 2023, during the ice and snow season, the consumption scale of non-local tourists in catering, hotels, B&B, leisure and entertainment, instant retail and other formats increased by 76.4%, 146.8%, 196.5%, 356.6% and 65.7% year-on-year, respectively. However, the year-on-year growth rates of these types of formats in popular ice and snow tourism destinations such as Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Xinjiang, Hebei, and Beijing were generally higher than the national level. The average growth rate of these types of formats in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region exceeded 570%, and the average growth rate in Heilongjiang exceeded 420%, indicating the importance of diversity of formats and consumption integration for local tourism development.

Figure 2 Growth of Ice and Snow Tourism Consumption in Various Formats in China and Some Regions during the Second Half of the Ice and Snow Season of 2023

2. Development prospects of the ice and snow tourism industry

(1) Policies support the ice and snow industry, and relevant cities actively plan it.

The ice and snow industry in China has received high attention from governments at all levels and key support from national industrial policies. Since 2023, the country and regions have successively introduced multiple policies to encourage the development and innovation of the ice and snow tourism industry. In March, 2023, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the Tourism Development Plan of Northeast China, proposing a new positioning of a world-class ice and snow tourism resort in Northeast China; in September of the same year, the General Office of the State Council issued the Measures to Release the Potential of Tourism Consumption and Promote the High-quality Development of the Tourism Industry, proposing to develop the ice and snow economy and strengthen the construction of ski tourism resorts. In terms of regions, Jilin Province and Heilongjiang Province have successively launched policies to develop ice and snow tourism, based on regional advantages, and accelerating the construction of ice and snow related industrial chains. By now, many places have started the ice and snow consumption season, issuing ice and snow consumption vouchers, holding ice and snow events, exhibitions and other activities to attract tourists, and gradually releasing the market consumption potential.

(2) The new business model of “ice and snow+” leads the trend of ice and snow activities and stimulates consumption potential.

With the rise of ice and snow tourism, the supply side has launched a richer combination of ice and snow tourism products, creating a “ice and snow+” industry chain, “ice and snow+sports”, “ice and snow+hotels”, “ice and snow+hot springs” and other new models to meet the needs of tourists and citizens. According to the special survey data on ice and snow tourism by China Tourism Research Institute, among the types of “ice and snow+” activities that tourists love, ice and snow sports (skiing, ice skating, rock climbing, ice and snow exploration, snow marathon, etc.), modern ice and snow culture (snow country trains, ice and snow photography, ice and snow rock music, polar world, etc.), and traditional Chinese ice and snow culture (ice play, winter fishing, winter hunting, folk festival activities, etc.) rank among the top three, accounting for 15.8%, 14.0%, and 12.7%, respectively. Secondly, health preservation (hot springs, SPA, etc.), film and television IPs, and celebrity activities are also receiving more attention. The new business model of “ice and snow+” will promote the development of the ice and snow economy and enhance the potential for ice and snow consumption.

1.1.3 Advantageous conditions of project construction

(1) Policy advantages

The Central Economic Work Conference 2024 listed “vigorously boosting consumption, improving investment efficiency, and expanding domestic demand in all aspects” as the top priority of the nine major tasks for 2025, and clearly put forward specific requirements such as “innovating diversified consumption scenarios, expanding service consumption, and promoting the development of cultural tourism”.

The Classification of Quality Levels for Tourist Attractions (GB/T17775-2024) has added the content on integration of culture and tourism” and “smart tourism”. The integration of culture and tourism has established a standard content system consisting of three parts: cultural themes, cultural utilization, and cultural dissemination; smart tourism has established a standard content system consisting of three parts: smart services, smart management, and smart marketing.

The Opinions on Stimulating the Vitality of Ice and Snow Economy through High-quality Development of Ice and Snow Sports proposes to launch and implement the plan to enhance ice and snow tourism. Support the investigation of ice and snow tourism resources in key areas, build a number of high-quality ice and snow themed tourist attractions and resorts, and optimize and enhance national ski tourism resorts. Promote the construction of 3-5 globally renowned high-quality ice and snow tourism destinations in Beijing, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Xinjiang and other places. Support the construction of key rural tourism villages and towns with ice and snow themes in eligible areas. Improve tourism signage and tourism information sharing system. Organize activities such as the Happy Ice and Snow Tourism Season to strengthen the promotion of ice and snow tourism both domestically and internationally.

The Measures on Unleashing the Potential of Tourism Consumption Coupons and Promoting High-quality Development of Tourism proposes to develop the ice and snow economy, promote the development of the entire industry chain of ice and snow sports, ice and snow equipment, and ice and snow tourism, and guide the strengthening of ski tourism resort construction.

The 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Tourism Industry proposes to promote the development of ice and snow tourism, improve the system of ice and snow tourism service facilities, accelerate the integration and development of ice and snow tourism with ice and snow sports, ice and snow culture, ice and snow equipment manufacturing, and create a number of national ski tourism resorts and ice and snow tourism bases.

The High-quality Development Plan for the Ice and Snow Industry in Jilin Province (2021-2035) proposes to promote the construction of the “4+X” ice and snow industry system at a higher level, with “ice and snow sports, ice and snow tourism, ice and snow culture, ice and snow equipment” as the core, and related industries such as ice and snow technology, ice and snow talents, and ice and snow commerce as the support.

(2) Resource advantages

Water energy resources: Fusong County is one of the first electrified counties in China, with 66 rivers over 10 kilometers in length. The exploitable capacity of hydropower resources is 810000 kilowatts, with 590000 kilowatts already developed. Among them, the technology of small hydropower resources in the whole county can develop an installed capacity of 220000 kilowatts. The county has built 16 small hydropower stations with a total installed capacity of 84400 kilowatts and a designed annual power generation of 2032.1 billion kilowatt hours. The Songjiang River Cascade Hydropower Station, a key water conservancy project in the province, has an installed capacity of 510000 kilowatts and is the largest peak shaving hydropower station in Fusong County.

Land resources: The total land area of Fusong County is 615928.17 hectares, including 30367.91 hectares of arable land, 5001.99 hectares of garden land, 542403.84 hectares of forest land, 8151.71 hectares of grassland, 11394.31 hectares of urban, rural, industrial and mining land, 4934.36 hectares of transportation land, and 10209.11 hectares of water and water conservancy facilities land.

Tourism resources: The tourism resources in Fusong include 8 categories, 56 resource types, and 846 individual resources. After years of scientific development, we have successfully created three tourist routes: Changbai Mountain Road, Ginseng Road, and Songhua River Road; it has cultivated characteristic tourism products such as Changbai Mountain International Resort, Luneng Scenic Area, Baishanhu District, Lushuihe International Hunting Area, Hot Spring International Resort, and Songhua River Drifting, which have equipped Fusong with ecological sightseeing, sports competition, leisure vacation, science popularization exploration, cultural exploration, and other types of tourism products. It has formed a tourism complex with ecological resources as the main line, mountains, water, forests, parks, caves, snow, and springs as the main features, and cultural history as the background.

Mineral resources: Fusong is one of the three major mineral water rich areas in the world, with water quality comparable to that of the mineral springs of the Alps and North Caucasus. Fusong’s mineral water includes silicic acid type mineral water, naturally carbonated composite mineral water, and rare mineral water rich in strontium, lithium, and vanadium. There are 48 proven natural mineral water sources in the territory, of which 16 have been surveyed and identified. The allowable mining output is 55000 m³/day, and the annual commercial mining output is 22.89 million tons. In December, 2013, Fusong was awarded the title of “China’s Mineral City”.

(3) Industrial advantages

Fusong County has the Changbai Mountain Wanda International Resort and Changbai Mountain Huameishengdi Resort, both of which have national and even world-class ski resorts. They have achieved positive growth for two consecutive years, receiving more than 8000 visitors per day during the snow season, a year-on-year increase of 182%. During the 2023-2024 snow season, the county’s ice and snow tourism received over 1.2 million visitors, generating tourism revenue of over 850 million yuan. It has truly transformed the “cold resources” of ice and snow into a “hot industry”, and turned white snow into “silver”, paving a new path for revitalization and development. In addition to ice and snow tourism, the green mountains and clear waters of Fusong in summer attract many tourists to escape the heat. During the May Day holiday in 2024, Changbai Mountain Huameishengdi Resort alone saw a year-on-year increase of 36% in tourist reception and 63% in operating revenue; Nowadays, Fusong is gradually building a “summer vacation+ice and snow” four-season tourism pattern.

Fusong County is developing the “ice and snow+” industry, providing an immersive experience of ice and snow. Among them, “ice and snow+sports” will hold various types of sports competitions such as “Fusong, The Starting Point of the Ice and Snow Silk Road-Changbai Mountain Snow Marathon 2024”, “Everyone Goes to Ice and Snow”, “Powder Snow Drying · Fun Changbai Mountain”, etc., to drive ice and snow tourism through ice and snow sports. “Ice and snow+culture” fully explores the meaning of the famous mountain of “guarding for a long time, living to a ripe old age”, holding a large-scale themed event “Coming to Changbai Mountain to Get Married”, and enriching winter tourism culture. Organize cultural performances such as “Ice and Snow, Charm of Participating Villages”, themed photography exhibitions such as “The Promise of Ice and Snow, Beauty in Participating Villages”, and winter intangible cultural heritage product exhibitions. The theme of “ice and snow+folk customs” is “Celebrating the New Year in Northeast China”. Some activities such as ice and snow tourism folk culture experience, stilt walking and yangko dance are held to experience folk customs of Northeast China such as horse pulling and plowing, ice pumping, ice skating knife, pancake making, fruit frying, and candy tasting. Ice and snow cultural folk festivals such as lantern festivals are also held to celebrate the New Year with tourists. The first Northeast Asia (Fusong) Ginseng Health Food Culture Exhibition and Exchange Conference was held under the theme of “ice and snow+ginseng” to create a winter tourism brand of “Love for Ginseng, Ice and Snow”.

(4) Talent advantages

There are 63800 professional and technical talents in Baishan City; there are 13000 highly skilled talents, including 39 young and middle-aged experts who have made outstanding contributions; thirteen top-notch innovative talents have formed a talent team that has initially taken shape, with a relatively complete range of categories and gradually strengthened overall strength. There is Changbai Mountain Vocational and Technical College in the urban area, which is a public ordinary university with higher education enrollment qualifications approved by the Jilin Provincial Government and registered with the national education system. The college is a multi-level and multi-class teaching-oriented vocational college that mainly focuses on higher education, takes into account secondary vocational education, and also carries out social training and vocational skills certification education. The college has 18 vocational majors for national enrollment and 12 vocational majors for provincial enrollment. The college training center offers skill training and vocational qualification education for over 30 projects in six major categories, with an annual training capacity of 5000 people.

(5) Location advantages

Fusong County is located on the high ground of the two development centers of Northeast Asia’s Golden Triangle and Bohai Bay Economic Zone, with convenient conditions for cross-border economic and trade cooperation with North Korea, Russia, Japan, and South Korea. No. 201 National Highway and No. 302 Provincial Highway run through the entire area, with China’s first forest tourism airport - Changbai Mountain Airport, serving 14 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, and Guangzhou. The Changchun-Changbai Mountain Expressway and Hegang-Dalian Expressway run through the entire area. Fusong is still an important hub of the Shenyang-Baishan high-speed railway (Songjianghe Station). After its completion and opening in 2025, it will only take 3.5 hours to travel from Beijing to Fusong.

1.2 Contents and scale of project construction

The project covers an area of approximately 5.4 hectares and has a construction area of approximately 50000 square meters. It is planned to construct the indoor ski resort, ice hockey rink, skating rink, entertainment venue, and other facilities.

1.3 Total investment of the project and capital raising

1.3.1 Total investment of the project

The total investment of the project is 350 million yuan, including the construction investment of 280 million yuan and current funds of 70 million yuan.

1.3.2 Capital raising

Self-raising by the enterprise

1.4 Financial analysis and social evaluation

1.4.1 Main financial indexes

After the project reaches the production capacity, its annual sales revenue will be 150 million yuan, its profit will be 60 million yuan, its investment payback period will be 8 years (after the tax, including the construction period of 2 years) and its return on investment will be 17.14%.

Note: “10 thousand yuan” in the table is in RMB.

1.4.2 Social evaluation

The project aims to create an ice and snow experience center that integrates diverse business formats such as ice and snow project experience, commerce, leisure, and culture. It can lead the participation and experience of the general public and young people, stimulate their enthusiasm for ice and snow sports, and promote the development of mass ice and snow sports and the ice and snow industry.

1.5 Cooperative way

Joint venture, cooperation, sole proprietorship, and other methods can be discussed face-to-face.

1.6 What to be invested by the foreign party

Funds, and other methods can be discussed face-to-face.

1.7 Construction site of the project

Fusong County, Baishan City

1.8 Progress of the project

It is currently seeking external investment.

2. Introduction to the Partner

2.1 Basic information

Name: Fusong Investment Promotion Service Center

Address: Building 4, Fusong Administrative Center

2.2 Overview

Fusong County is located in the southeast of Jilin Province, China, the upstream of the Songhua River, the northwest of Changbai Mountain, bordered by Huadian City and Dunhua City to the north by Erdaosonghua River. It is connected to Linjiang City and Changbai Korean Autonomous County in the south. It borders Antu County and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the east. It faces Jingyu County across the river to the west and connects to Jiangyuan District.

In recent years, Fusong County has established a development strategy of “ecological strength county, industrial development county, and characteristic wealth county”, and clearly put forward the goal of “accelerating the construction and practice of ‘green mountains and lucid water are also invaluable assets’, and building a ‘5+1’ modern green industry system”. Through the “dual-wheel drive” of characteristic resource industrialization and tourism industry globalization, the transformation channel of “green mountains and lucid water are also invaluable assets” has been smoothly expanded, truly realizing a new situation where economic construction and ecological civilization construction is promoted together, industrial competitiveness and environmental competitiveness is improved together, and material civilization and ecological civilization is developed together.

As a characteristic industry, strategic industry, and wealth industry of Fusong, the ginseng industry in Fusong County will have a total transaction volume of 19.1 billion yuan in 2023, including a primary output value of 347 million yuan, a secondary output value of 6.098 billion yuan, and a tertiary output value of 12.655 billion yuan. Large scale ginseng pharmaceutical enterprises achieved an output value of 890 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 36.67%.

Fusong County is located in a natural mineral water rich area, where 39 types of mineral resources have been discovered in four major categories, and 46 water sources have been identified. With its unique resource advantages, Fusong County has built a green beverage industry cluster mainly based on mineral water through water source protection, industrial agglomeration, and brand optimization, promoting the realization of the value of aquatic ecological products. Only mineral water achieved an output value of 1.484 billion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 17.26%.

2.3 Contact method

Postal code: 134500

Contact person: Yu Shiliang

Tel: +86-439-6236886

Contact method of the city (prefecture) where the project is located:

Contact unit: Baishan Bureau of Commerce

Contact person: Zhu Yuze

Tel: +86-439-3367020    

   +86-15844990231