1. Introduction to the Project

1.1 Project background

1.1.1 Product introduction

Bali Slope is located in Laoling Village, Shiren Town, Jiangyuan District, Baishan City, Jilin Province. It derives its name from an eight-mile-long slope on the western side of the Laoling Mountain Range. The Bali Slope Scenic Area boasts excellent natural ecology, dense forest vegetation, picturesque landscapes, convenient transportation, and abundant winter snowfall, making it an ideal destination for ice and snow tourism in winter with significant development potentials.

The project aims to develop the Bali Slope Ice and Snow Tourism and Sports Complex, encompassing four functional sectors: ice and snow sports, ice and snow entertainment, ice and snow culture, and ice and snow lifestyle experience.

1.1.2 Market prospect

1. Analysis of the national ice and snow tourism consumption landscape

(1) Quality expansion of supply drives high-quality industry development.

The success of the Beijing Winter Olympics has greatly stimulated investment in ice and snow tourism-related industries and diversified consumer enthusiasm. The sector has transitioned from addressing “availability” to prioritizing “quality”. This shift is reflected in the continuous expansion of China’s ice and snow tourism supply and the steady improvement in service quality and experiences. By 2023, China had 2,847 ice and snow sports facilities nationwide, including 1,912 ice rinks and 935 ski resorts. Compared to 2022, the total number of facilities increased by 16.11% in 2023, with ski resorts growing by 6.74% and ice rinks by 21.32%. As of the 2024 National Day holiday, mainland China had 65 indoor ski resorts (6 temporarily closed), 80% of which were small-scale facilities serving local tourism and ice and snow sports promotion. Large indoor ski resorts are experiencing rapid growth—only 3 existed before September, 2024, and the number will have reached 8 by the end of 2025. From 2018 to 2023, total investment in China’s ice and snow tourism heavy-asset projects reached 1.232 trillion yuan, providing robust support for steady growth in tourism consumption. Geographically, investment has become increasingly concentrated in Northwest China, East China, and Northeast China.

In addition to supply expansion, the industry’s online integration has deepened, enhancing convenience and comfort for tourists. Collaborations between ice and snow tourism venues, parks, and online platforms have grown, leveraging group purchases, livestreaming, and pre-sales for innovative marketing. This allows tourists to easily book tickets, accommodations, dining, and entertainment via digital channels. According to Meituan data, during the 2023 snow season, the total supply of ice and snow tourism projects with online transactions on its platform increased by 39.3% year-on-year. Ski resorts and public ice and snow leisure projects both saw growth: the number of listed ski resorts rose by 8.6% compared to 2019, while leisure projects surged by 150.3%, demonstrating the sector’s digital potential and its evolution into a “virtuous cycle of consumption and investment”.

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

(2) Ice and snow tourism consumption ushers in a new chapter.

In 2023, the “post-Winter Olympics era”, China’s ice and snow tourism consumption continued its rapid growth trajectory. According to the China Ice and Snow Industry Development Research Report (2024), the number of ice and snow leisure tourists during the 2023–2024 snow season exceeded 385 million.

Data from Meituan reveals that total ice and snow tourism consumption during the 2023 snow season grew by 17.1% compared to the 2022 season and surged by 132.5% compared to 2019. The growth in November and December 2023 was particularly robust, with consumption increasing by 323.5% and 262.3% year-on-year compared to 2022 and 2019. Monthly data highlights that year-end and early-year months (January, February, and December) account for nearly three-quarters of annual ice and snow tourism bookings, with ski resort bookings alone comprising approximately 90% of annual totals. In contrast, more accessible leisure activities like snow parks, ice rinks, and indoor ice and snow entertainment show more evenly distributed demand throughout the year, including during summer and National Day holidays. The trend of blending “professional sports with mass recreation” has become increasingly prominent.

(3) Analysis of ice and snow tourism consumer demographics

In 2023, intercity and interprovincial tourism consumption rebounded sharply. Meituan data indicates that during the second half of the 2023 snow season, 49.1% of ice and snow tourism spending came from non-local visitors, a 15.2 percentage point increase from 2022. Major source cities included Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou, with travelers from southern China increasingly embracing winter trips to northern regions for ice and snow scenery.

Younger demographics dominated consumption: users under 20 accounted for nearly 3% of total spending, those aged 20–25 comprised 22%, and individuals under 35 represented nearly 80% of all consumers. Ice and snow tourism has solidified its status as a favored activity among younger generations.

The Winter Olympics’ legacy further boosted enthusiasm across demographics. Ice rinks, ski resorts, and snow parks gained popularity among families, with family-oriented users rising to 10.6% of total consumers in 2023, up 3.6 percentage points from 2022. Female tourists slightly outnumbered males, accounting for 53.5% of total spending.

(4) Multi-sector integration drives comprehensive growth.

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. Meituan data shows that during the second half of 2023, non-local tourists significantly boosted spending in dining (up 76.4% year-on-year), hotels (146.8%), B&B (196.5%), leisure entertainment (356.6%), and instant retail (65.7%). Popular destinations like Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Xinjiang, Hebei, and Beijing outperformed national averages in these sectors. Notably, Xinjiang saw an average growth rate exceeding 570%, while Heilongjiang’s surpassed 420%, underscoring the critical role of diversified offerings and consumption integration in regional tourism growth.

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

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 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 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

Baishan City is located in the golden latitude zone of ice and snow, with a snow period of up to 6 months and an average snow accumulation of over 1 meter. Coupled with an average temperature of minus 12℃ and a comfortable breeze, Baishan City has unique ice and snow resources. Changbai Mountain is the first ski resort in China. Along with the Alps of Europe and the Rocky Mountains of North America, it is one of the world’s three major ski resorts and ice and snow tourism destinations with powder snow as their distinctive advantages.

The natural ecology of Jiangyuan is intact, with a forest coverage rate of 77% and over 350 excellent days in the central urban area. There are 26 rivers with a drainage area of over 20 square kilometers in the area, and the compliance rate of outbound water quality and centralized drinking water sources is 100%. In 2023, Jiangyuan District was awarded the title of one of the “Third Batch of National Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Counties” by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Within its jurisdiction, Dayangcha Town has one of the only two remaining Cambrian Ordovician geological boundary layers in the world, as well as two national 3A level scenic spots, Ganfanpen and Strange Stones Cultural City, known as the “Bermuda of Changbai Mountain”, and Wangou Baihui Garden and Bali Slope Cultural Park, two 4A level rural tourism management units.

The ancient trees in the Bali Slope Scenic Area are towering, and there are a wide variety of natural wild vegetables such as Acanthopanax senticosus, tender shoots, mountain celery, ferns, monkey legs, mountain carrots, and yellow flowers growing under the forest, which are rich in nutrients. There are over a hundred types of Chinese herbal medicines under the forest, including ginseng, gastrodia elata, Codonopsis pilosula, and motherwort. There are more than ten types of wild fruits, including walnuts, pine seeds, hazelnuts, Yamanashi, and mountain grapes. Due to years of hunting ban, wild animals thrive here, including wild boars, otters, raccoons, spotted deer, red deer, minks, rabbits, badgers, foxes, squirrels, wild chickens, and many other species. Purple mink is a rare animal unique to the Bali Slope Scenic Area. Mountain chickens, tree chickens, woodpeckers, owls, and mountain magpies are all rare and precious birds. The forest coverage rate of Bali Slope is 87%, and the scenic area has abundant water sources and a cold water fish farming base.

(3) Industrial advantages

Baishan City currently has 6 ski resorts and 68 ski slopes with a total length of 51 kilometers, becoming a holy land in the hearts of skiing enthusiasts. 29 A-level scenic spots, 72 A-level rural tourism operation units, and 5 hot spring tourism resorts have formed a ice and snow tourism industry cluster of Baishan that integrates ice and snow, hot springs, folk customs, vacation, drifting, hunting, and study, meeting the ice and snow tourism experience of different consumers.

In recent years, Jiangyuan District has enriched the supply of ice and snow tourism products, accelerated the improvement of various boutique tourism loops, and focused on developing winter leisure tourism products such as ice and snow scenic spots, forest crossing ice and snow experiences, ice and snow sports events, ice climbing experiences, ice and snow folk experiences, and hot spring traditional Chinese medicine health care. It supports the innovative and integrated development of red tourism and ice and snow tourism, accelerates the transformation and upgrading of ice and snow products, and generates “consumer terminals”. It will further enhance the supply of ice and snow performing arts products, organize district cultural centers and other cultural enterprises to create new ice and snow and regional characteristic performing arts programs, and increase the number of performances. Carry out the activity of “Million Youth on Ice and Snow”, establish and improve the competition system for ice and snow sports for young students, equip them with ice and snow sports equipment, carry out research and practice activities and winter camps with ice and snow sports as the theme, and build and cultivate an integrated industry education enterprise in the field of ice and snow. Vigorously develop rural tourism, create two rural tourism boutique villages, Laoling Village with a prominent feature of life painting and photography base and Toudao Yangcha Village with ecological outdoor tourism as the main focus, and build three boutique tourist attractions, Baihui Garden, Bali Slope, and Ruixin Resort, as well as two boutique B&B in Wangou Baihui Garden. It plans to promote the Xiaoyangqiao Cambrian Ordovician Geological Culture Village and successfully apply for the national geological culture village. It will complete the application and selection of 2 AA level rural tourism operation units, and recommend 1 AAA level rural tourism operation unit and 1 AAAA level rural tourism operation unit to the city and the province.

(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

Highways and railways crisscross Jiangyuan District, with five national and provincial trunk highways including the Hegang-Dalian Line and Shenyang-Changchun Line running through the area, and two railway trunk lines, the Hunchun-Baishan Line and the Yayuan-Dalizi Line, connecting the north and south. The Hegang-Dalian Expressway and Linjiang-Huinan Expressway have been completed and opened to traffic, and the urban area is 5 minutes and 15 minutes away from the two highways respectively. Baishan New Branch Airport is actively advancing, and the early construction section of the Siping-Baishan High-speed Railway Control Project has officially started. There is a station in Wangou Town within the area, and the urban area is only a 10 minute drive from the new airport and Baishan East Station of the Shenyang-Baishan High-speed Railway. Jiangyuan has formed a 1-hour economic circle in Baishan City. With the construction of high-speed railways and airports, Jiangyuan District will form a 3-hour economic circle with Beijing, Dalian, Shenyang and other places, making factor sharing more convenient and smooth.

The Bali Slope Scenic Area covers an area of 32 square kilometers and is located in Laoling Village, 15 kilometers east of Shiren Town, Jiangyuan District, Baishan City. It is 27 kilometers away from Jiangyuan District and 40 kilometers away from Linjiang City. It is separated from the Ganfanpen scenic area by a post and 5 kilometers away from the Linjiang Creek Valley Scenic Area. The highest point is 1195 meters above sea level, which is the highest point in Shiren Town.

1.2 Contents and scale of project construction

The project covers an area of 3000 acres and includes four functional areas: ice and snow sports, ice and snow entertainment, ice and snow culture, and ice and snow life. Among them, the ice and snow sports section includes the family friendly ski resort, children’s adventure island, children’s themed ski resort, snowmobiles, snow horseback riding, ski school, and ice and snow winter camp. The ice and snow entertainment sector includes the “Boonie Bears” ice and snow amusement park, bear themed restaurant, the “Boonie Bears” joyful theater, forest gift house, DIY ice and snow sculptures, snow circle parks, and fun sleds. The ice and snow culture section includes the snow painting field, folk age show, crystal palace wedding, flower coat party, photography base, and outdoor cinema. The ice and snow life section includes Xueling Hot Spring Resort Hotel, Snow Therapy SPA, Rural Ice Bar, Hot Spring Log Cabins, Forest Hot Spring Elegant Residence, Starlight Campsite, and Container Creative Snow House.

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 1.02 billion yuan, including the construction investment of 816 million yuan and current funds of 204 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 500 million yuan, its profit will be 200 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 profit rate will be 19.61%.

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

1.4.2 Social evaluation

The construction of the project can further improve the infrastructure construction of ice and snow tourism in Jiangyuan District, achieve the perfect integration of ice and snow with tourism, and have a strong economic driving effect, so as to continuously “heat up” the ice and snow economy and further expand the influence and attractiveness of ice and snow tourism of Baishan.

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

Jiangyuan District, Baishan City

1.8 Progress of the project

It is currently seeking external investment.

2. Introduction to the Partner

2.1 Basic information

Name: Bureau of Jiangyuan District, Baishan City

Address: Building 25, Fuqiang Phase 2, Jiangyuan District, Baishan City

2.2 Overview

Jiangyuan District is located in the southeast of Jilin Province. Located between longitude 126° 23′ -127° 11′ E and latitude 41° 48′ -42° 13′ N, it borders Fusong County to the east, Liuhe County and Badaojiang District to the west, Linjiang City to the south, and Jingyu County to the north. The distance between east and west is 69 kilometers, and the distance between north and south is 44.4 kilometers, with a total area of 1348 square kilometers.

Jiangyuan District has always adhered to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implemented the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s inspection of Jilin, focused on the core strategic arrangements and overall leadership direction of the Municipal Party Committee, based on the new development stage, implemented the new development concept, integrated into the new development pattern, created new development advantages, adhered to the principles of ecological development, industrial strength, characteristic enrichment, and innovative development, deeply implemented the “1151” development strategy, persisted in revitalizing stock, expanding increment, and striving for excellence, solidly carried out the “six-aspect stability” work, fully implemented the “six-guarantees” task, continuously created a new situation of green transformation and high-quality development, and vigorously advanced towards the second centenary goal of comprehensively building socialist modernization.

In 2024, the main expected goal for the economic and social development of the entire region was to achieve a regional GDP growth rate of over 7%; the total output value of industrial enterprises above a certain scale increased by more than 20%; the fixed assets investment of the whole society increased by more than 8%; the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by over 8%; the per capita disposable income of urban and rural permanent residents increased by over 6% and 8%, respectively.

2.3 Contact method

Contact unit: Baishan Bureau of Commerce

Contact person: Zhu Yuze

Tel: +86-439-3367020    +86-15844990231