1. Introduction to the Project

1.1 Project background

1.1.1 Product introduction

Ice and snow tourism refers to the behavior of attracting tourists to engage in tourism activities through experiencing ice and snow culture, viewing ice and snow landscapes, participating in ice and snow sports, etc., with ice and snow resources as the main attraction. It belongs to the category of ecotourism and is a highly participatory, experiential, and stimulating tourism product.

The project is located in the Lianhua Mountain Ecotourism Resort in Changchun, providing tourists with a comprehensive snow game project, creating an “immersive” ice and snow experience, allowing tourists to fully experience the fun of the ice and snow world in the snow countryside.

1.1.2 Market prospect

(1) Current situation of the ice and snow tourism market

China’s ice and snow tourism has entered a new stage driven by endogenous factors in the mass market, with over 300 million people participating in ice and snow leisure tourism for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, two consecutive seasons. Many ordinary people have gone from beginners to enthusiasts of ice and snow leisure tourism, and ice and snow leisure tourism has become their normalized way of life.

According to a special survey on ice and snow tourism by China Tourism Research Institute, 66.2% of tourists hope to experience ice and snow leisure tourism activities during the ice and snow season of 2023-2024, and 64.8% of tourists increased the frequency of ice and snow leisure tourism, indicating a strong willingness to travel for ice and snow leisure tourism. According to the latest data from Ctrip, the travel intentions of ice and snow tourism consumers are relatively diverse, with personal leisure travel accounting for 54.4%, becoming the most important travel intention for ice and snow tourism.

The Research Report on the Development of China’s Ice and Snow Industry (2024) shows that the scale of China’s ice and snow industry is expected to have reached 1005.3 billion yuan by 2025. During the ice and snow season of 2023-2024, the number of ice and snow leisure tourists in China exceeded 385 million, and it is expected that this number will exceed 500 million during the ice and snow season of 2024-2025.

The report points out that the successful hosting of Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics has effectively promoted the rapid development of China’s ice and snow sports and ice and snow industry, and the ice and snow market has shown explosive growth. Various regions have launched a series of “ice and snow+” new products and scenarios, and “playing with ice and enjoying snow” has been widely popular. The scale of China’s ice and snow industry has grown from 270 billion yuan in 2015 to 890 billion yuan in 2023, and reached 970 billion yuan in 2024, demonstrating the rapid development momentum of China’s ice and snow industry.

The report suggests that the experience of watching ice and snow, as well as land ice and snow sports, continue to inspire public participation enthusiasm. From a regional perspective, all provinces in northern and southern China have shown a good trend in the development of ice and snow tourism. The trend of “professional sports+mass entertainment” and “northward and southward travel+host guest sharing” in ice and snow tourism leisure consumption is taking shape, which is closely related to the “Erbin phenomenon” driving the enthusiasm for ice and snow tourism in Northeast China and even the whole country.

The report also shows that China’s ice and snow industry is showing a new trend - the market size will continue to expand, consumers’ demand will become more diversified, and the ice and snow industry chain will continue to improve. The ice and snow industry will continue to be driven by technological innovation to transform and upgrade, gradually shifting from regional competition to regional collaboration, and placing greater emphasis on sustainable development. “Ice and snow +” will promote deep cross-border integration, and ice and snow equipment going abroad will become the norm.

(2) Market prospect analysis of ice and snow tourism

The General Office of the State Council has issued the Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Ice and Snow Sports to Stimulate the Vitality of Ice and Snow Economy (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions), aiming to implement the concept of “ice and snow are also invaluable assets”, and from the perspective of the entire industry chain, it is to plan and construct a modern ice and snow industry system. Ice and snow culture and tourism, as the core components of the ice and snow economy, play a crucial role in stimulating new consumption vitality, expanding new economic space, and forming new industrial momentum after the Winter Olympics.

The rise and fall of culture is related to the rise and fall of a country, and the strength of culture is related to the strength of a nation. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly states that “to comprehensively build a socialist modernized country, we must adhere to the path of developing socialist culture with Chinese characteristics”. China’s ice and snow culture has a long history and profound cultural heritage. From the millennium fur skiing tradition in Altay, Xinjiang, to the popular ice playing in the Qing Dynasty, to the ice sculpture art in Harbin, to the alpine skiing favored by modern young people, the function of ice and snow culture has changed from the means of survival in ancient times to the happy entertainment of modern Chinese people. With the continuous development of China’s ice and snow economy, promoting the historical inheritance of classic ice and snow culture and the future oriented modern ice and snow culture are equally important. This is the key to shifting the ice and snow economy from government led to spontaneous endogenous growth, and also the foundation for achieving sustainable development of China’s ice and snow tourism after entering a new stage of quality driven development.

Ice and snow culture has officially risen to a national strategy, and the ice and snow culture industry has entered a new stage of prosperous development. At the national level, the Opinions systematically elaborates on ice and snow culture from the perspective of the entire chain of ice and snow economy, and comprehensively plans the direction and focus of the development of ice and snow culture industry in the new era. The Opinions puts forward that the inheritance and development of ice and snow culture must play a leading role, deeply excavate and protect China’s excellent traditional ice and snow culture, achieve innovation and development in the protection, and better serve the needs of the Chinese people for a better life. Ice and snow culture is not only a cause that requires government led provision of public cultural products, but also an industry that requires market entities to play a role in meeting the new demands of mass tourism. In order to develop ice and snow culture, the Opinions has identified development priorities, including intangible cultural heritage of ice and snow, construction of ice and snow culture museums, creation of ice and snow cultural and artistic works, the 9th Harbin Asian Winter Games in 2025, and the 15th National Winter Games, in order to promote the prosperity of ice and snow culture.

In the future, ice and snow tourism will develop towards diversification, no longer limited to traditional activities such as skiing and ice skating, but will also expand into multiple fields such as ice and snow culture, sports, and entertainment. With the increasing demand of consumers for tourism quality, ice and snow tourism will also pay more attention to quality development, including improving the quality of tourism facilities, optimizing service quality, and enriching the connotation of tourism products.

With the increasingly significant trend of internationalization in ice and snow sports, ice and snow tourism will also attract more international tourists. This requires the ice and snow tourism industry to enhance its internationalization level, including improving the international standards of tourism facilities and strengthening international marketing.

In summary, the future development prospects of the ice and snow tourism industry market are broad. Driven by the trends of diversified development, quality improvement, integrated development, and international expansion, the ice and snow tourism industry will face more development opportunities and better prospects. At the same time, with the increase of policy support and the promotion of technological innovation, the ice and snow tourism industry will continue to upgrade and grow, providing tourists with a better ice and snow tourism experience.

1.1.3 Advantageous conditions of project construction

(1) Policy conditions

The General Office of the State Council has issued the Opinions on Stimulating the Vitality of Ice and Snow Economy through High-quality Development of Ice and Snow Sports (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions), implementing the concept of “ice and snow are also invaluable assets”, planning the construction of a modern ice and snow industry system from the perspective of the entire industry chain, and making ice and snow culture and tourism an important part of the ice and snow economy. It is crucial to stimulate new vitality in ice and snow consumption, expand new space for ice and snow economy, and form new momentum for the ice and snow industry in the post-Winter Olympics period.

The Opinions clearly proposes to launch and implement the plan to enhance ice and snow tourism. It is necessary to adhere to the development of a combination of popular ice and snow tourism and skiing vacation products, serving the leisure tourism needs of the general public. The Opinions continues the policy of the Action Plan for the Development of Ice and Snow Tourism (2021-2023) already issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the General Administration of Sport of China. Based on national strategies, market needs, and industrial development, we will optimize and upgrade existing policies, implement a new round of ice and snow tourism action plans, and achieve high-quality development of ice and snow tourism. The Opinions also adheres to brand leadership and proposes a series of measures to improve the quality of ice and snow tourism services. The Opinions emphasizes the need to optimize and enhance the construction of national ski resorts, cultivate a number of globally renowned ice and snow tourism destinations, encourage Chinese ice and snow products to go global, implement the China Ice and Snow Welcoming the World Plan, and carry out overseas ice and snow tourism promotion activities. This is an inevitable choice for China’s ice and snow tourism to go from domestic first-class to international leading. In the future, the construction of ice and snow tourism destinations in China should adhere to international quality and Chinese characteristics, while taking into account both domestic and international dual circulation markets, and serve global ice and snow tourists with more high-quality ice and snow tourism products. The Opinions also proposes to establish a quality evaluation system for ice and snow tourism products and services, support local governments in establishing a prepayment system for ice and snow tourism consumption compensation, optimize the compensation process, and maximize the protection of consumer rights.

(2) Industrial advantages

The Lianhua Mountain area is located in the Daheishan Forest Belt, a branch of Changbai Mountain. It is surrounded by low mountains and water, with rolling hills and lush vegetation, creating a unique ecological environment that combines mountains, water, forests, and fields. It has unique resources of ice, snow, hot springs, and cold springs, and is known as the “lung” of Changchun City. The area has 122 square kilometers of forests, over 40 square kilometers of water, and is adjacent to the Shitoukoumen Reservoir, the largest drinking water source in Changchun, to the east.

(3) Location advantages

Changchun is an important railway hub city in China and an important node city of the North Line of the Belt and Road . On October 13, 2017, Changchun International Port and China-Europe Express (Changchun-Hamburg) were officially opened. Changchun International Port, relying on the construction of Changchun Railway Comprehensive Freight Yard, is the largest first-class railway comprehensive logistics base in Northeast China. Changchun-Hunchun Intercity Railway and Harbin-Dalian Passenger Dedicated Line have been successively opened, forming Changchun Station and Changchun West Station, two main railway passenger stations.

Changchun Longjia International Airport, a 4E-level civil airport, is one of the four major international airports in Northeast China, a gateway to Northeast Asia’s aviation hub, an important aviation transportation hub in the region, and a major mainline airport under construction in China. The first and second phases of the Longjia Airport expansion project have been fully completed, with two terminals and one runway built, a total of 150 operating routes, and 73 navigable cities. It has initially formed an air traffic network that radiates domestically, has the layout in Northeast Asia, and connects major Southeast Asian countries and key cities in Russia.

Changchun-Shenzhen Expressway, Hunchun-Ulanhot Expressway, Beijing-Harbin Expressway, Changchun-Changbai Mountain Expressway and other highways intersect in Changchun City, connecting the one hour economic circle of other counties (cities), forming a three-dimensional transportation network that extends in all directions, is fast and convenient in Changchun City.

The Changchun One-hour Economic Circle connects Jiutai District, Chaluhe Town, Shuangyang District, Yitong Manchu Autonomous County, Gongzhuling City, Huaide Town, Nong’an County, Dehui City and other places in Changchun City. After completion, the project will become an important platform for the development and incubation of enterprises in Changchun, Jilin and surrounding cities and counties.

1.2 Contents and scale of project construction

The project plan covers an area of 300000 square meters and mainly aims to build a snow village for tourism. It will feature an internet famous glass starry sky house, where visitors can enjoy the beautiful scenery of ice and snow in a 360° panoramic view. The project also includes a snow amusement park, snow houses, snow sculptures, snow fields, and characteristic B&B.

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 billion yuan, including the construction investment of 800 million yuan.

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 595.24 million yuan, its profit will be 178.57 million yuan, its investment payback period will be 7.6 years (after the tax, including the construction period of 2 years) and its return on investment will be 17.86%.

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

1.4.2 Social evaluation

The construction of the Auspicious Snow World Project in Changchun has not only brought significant economic benefits to the local area, but also had a profound impact on society. The implementation of this project has created a large number of employment opportunities for the surrounding areas, attracted the attention of numerous enterprises and investors, and thus promoted the rapid development of the regional economy. At the same time, the completion of the Auspicious Snow World has greatly enhanced the overall image of the city, becoming a new landmark building in Changchun, attracting numerous tourists and citizens to visit and experience, further promoting the prosperity of the tourism and service industries.

In addition, the project fully considers the improvement of residents' quality of life during the planning and construction process. By creating a green and ecological living environment, the living conditions of surrounding residents have been improved, providing them with a more comfortable and convenient living space. The construction of the Auspicious Snow World has also driven the improvement of surrounding infrastructure, including the upgrading of public service facilities such as transportation, education, and healthcare, making residents' lives more convenient and significantly improving their quality of life.

In summary, the construction of the the Auspicious Snow World Project in Changchun has not only injected new vitality into the city economically, but also brought tangible benefits to residents at the social level, with good social benefits.

1.5 Cooperative way

Sole proprietorship, joint venture or cooperation

1.6 What to be invested by the foreign party

Funds, and other methods can be discussed in person.

1.7 Construction site of the project

Changchun Lianhua Mountain Ecotourism Resort

1.8 Progress of the project

The project is in the planning phase.

2. Introduction to the Partner

2.1 Unit basic information

Name: No. 3 Investment Attraction Bureau of Changchun Lianhua Mountain Ecotourism Resort

Address: 1 Wujiu Road, Changchun Lianhua Mountain Ecotourism Resort

2.2 Unit overview

Changchun Lianhua Mountain Ecotourism Resort is a provincial-level development zone approved by Jilin Provincial Party Committee and Government in September, 2010. It is one of the five development zones directly managed by Changchun Municipal Party Committee and Government. Located in the eastern part of Changchun City, connected to Changchun City and Jilin City, with a planned controlled area of 417 square kilometers and an actual jurisdictional area of 362 square kilometers, it governs 26 administrative villages of “two towns and one township” with a total population of 50000.

In April, 2007, Jilin Provincial Government approved the establishment of Changchun Lianhua Mountain Ecotourism Resort. In October, 2008, Changchun Municipal Government included the Lianhua Mountain area in the Changchun Northeast Development and Opening up Pilot Zone.

In 2009, it was included in the national Tumen River regional cooperation plan along with Northeast Changchun District, and enjoyed preferential policies such as pilot projects.

The plan is to use 10 years to achieve a regional GDP of over 15 billion yuan and a tourism service population of 200000. The Lianhua Mountain area will be developed into a demonstration zone for livability, commerce, leisure, and entertainment in northern China, a leisure resort, and an international exchange base in Northeast Asia.

On September 20, 2019, it was awarded the title of National Greening Model Unit.

2.3 Contact method

2.3.1 Contact method of the partner

Contact unit: No. 3 Investment Attraction Bureau of Changchun Lianhua Mountain Ecotourism Resort

Contact person: Wang Chao

Tel: +86-432-89651378

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

Contact unit: Changchun Cooperation and Exchange Office

Contact person: Zhang Junjie

Tel: +86-15704317930

Fax: +86-431-82700590

E-mail: xmc82763933@163.com