Feb. 26, 2007 (China Knowledge) - From January to March 2007, the 7th Xiling Snow Festival is held in Xiling Snow Mountain of Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Chengdu is famous for its Sichuan food and snacks as well as being home to the panda, one of the endangered species in the world. Indeed, Chengdu is also home or the gateway to many UNESCO-awarded world cultural or natural heritage sites, such as Du-Jiang-Yan, an irrigating and flood control system constructed 2,000 years ago and still functioning today, Leshan Buddha, the world’s biggest statue of Buddha, and Jiu-Zhai-Gou, reputed to be one of the most beautiful places in China.

Xiling Snow Mountain, with a peak of more than 5,300 m high compared to the altitude of Chengdu downtown, which is about 540 m, is a two-hour drive from the city center. It is known by many due to these famous verses of Du Fu (712-770) of the Tang Dynasty, one of the greatest poets in China:

“The window frames the Xiling with eternal snow,

To lie–off Wu the mooring boat by the gate may go.”

The core attraction of Xiling Snow Mountain is the Xiling Ski Resort. The ski resort on the mountain is the biggest of its kind, equipped with up-to-date equipment and facilities in China. Standing 2,200 m to 2,400 m above sea level, the ski resort covers an area of seven sq km. With a minimum air temperature of -10° in winter, the area’s snow season falls between November to March, with a thickness of snow of over 60 cm.

The resort is equipped with 10 trails, possesses 2,000 sets of world brand ski equipment and gear for 2,000 skiers at a time, 35 Ski-doos have been imported from Canada and Japan, and some made-in-Europe all-terrain skiing vehicles and sliding tubes are available. For beginners, they can learn various skiing techniques under the instruction of coaches from China’s northeastern regions.

During the Xiling Snow Festival, various programs will be held for visitors including snowmobile riding, forest adventures, barbecues, bonfire parties with ethnic performances, viewing of special ice sculptures, and hunting games in the snow forest.

With the nation’s rising standard of living, and as the Chinese government is making efforts to turn its economy to a more consumption-driven one, tourism has become a fast growing industry in the nation. In 2006, China raked in RMB 885 billion from tourism industry, 15% higher than in 2005 and accounting for 4.2% of China’s GDP. China is now the world fourth largest destination for inbound tourism and the largest domestic tourism market.

As one of the key tourism destinations in China, Chengdu has been witnessing even faster growth. In 2006, Chengdu attracted more than 40 million domestic arrivals and 580,000 foreign arrivals. In 2006, Chengdu raked in RMB 34 billion from its tourism industry, 18.7% higher than in 2005.

At the same time, competition among different tourism destinations is heating up. Chengdu hopes its newly developed tourism attraction, Xiling Ski Resort, can provide another edge to attract more tourists, especially inbound tourists from Southeast Asia. For tourists from Southeast Asia, who do not experience the four seasons, they can get to enjoy the beauty of winter, and skiing is always a major attraction.

Chengdu reckons Xiling Snow Mountain be able to attract more Southeast Asian visitors over over the traditional ski resorts in Switzerland, South Korea or Japan due to shorter distance and lower costs while providing an experience that is comparable to that of the traditional ski resorts. For example, it takes about six hours from Thailand to Japan or South Korea by air, while a flight to Chengdu is only three hours. While skiing expenses in Japan and South Korea could run up to US$1,300, the cost of skiing in Chengdu can be 40% lower.

With improving services and a branding campaign, Xiling Snow Mountain has been playing an important role in Chengdu’s tourism industry. In the first month of 2007, Xiling Ski Resort attracted 80,000 tourists, including more than 10,000 foreign tourists, mainly from Southeast Asia and South Korea. This is 20% higher than the same period in 2006.

On Feb. 8, 2007, Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan, was rated as the Best Tourism City in China (BTCC) in 2006 by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA). Chengdu joins Dalian and Hangzhou in being the only three cities in China to have received this award. This new award will net extra credit for Chengdu’s tourism industry and will only serve to make Chengdu and its Xiling Snow Mountain even more popular.