The Chinese winter sports industry has transformed from a niche luxury pursuit to an accessible sport. Reflecting this shift, the winter sports market expanded from RMB 35.1 billion in 2016 to RMB 108.3 billion in 2024, more than tripling in size within less than a decade. The Chinese ski market has particularly shown strong momentum, reaching approximately RMB 12 billion in 2023, double its 2018 value of RMB 6 billion. This rapid expansion is supported by a government-led development plan spanning over a decade, promoting winter sports among the Chinese population and expanding infrastructure nationwide.
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While the post-2022 Beijing Winter Olympics boom is widely recognized, deeper analysis reveals underappreciated dynamics including the rise of indoor skiing in Southern China, the dominance of aesthetic-driven participation over athletic rigor, and the silent struggle of equipment shortages. Although government policies have successfully boosted student participation in winter sports, they have also contributed to an unexpected strain on resources, with an equipment shortage and very high utilization rates during peak seasons.
The government’s strategic expansion of Chinese winter sports industry
The Chinese government’s 2015 pledge to engage 300 million people in winter sports created an institutional framework that accelerated industry growth through three primary mechanisms: infrastructure expansion, event economy engineering, and education system integration.
Infrastructure expansion
The number of ice and snow sports facilities grew from 2,452 in 2022 to 2,847 in 2023. As shown in the accompanying map of ski resort distribution by province, this growth has reached beyond traditionally snowy regions into southern provinces like Guangdong and Zhejiang, despite their lack of natural snowfall.
Zhejiang has 23 ski resorts, including 7 indoor venues and 3 newly opened since the 2021–22 season. Notably, as of May 2025, the Guangzhou Sunac Snow World ranks as the world’s second largest indoor ski resort, attracting 2.3 million visitors annually despite being 1,800 kilometers south of the nearest natural snowfield.
Event economy engineering
The General Administration of Sport of China (国家体育总局) and related ministries have issued several policy documents since 2015 encouraging provinces to regularly organize winter sports events to popularize participation and develop local economies. For instance, the “Ice and Snow Sports Development Plan (2016–2025)” and subsequent updates urge local governments to host more competitions and festivals.
Many provinces, responding to central government encouragement, have set their own targets and organized multiple winter sports events annually. For example, Hebei, Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Inner Mongolia have each hosted several large-scale winter sports events every year since the 2022 Olympics.
Educational system integration
Primary and middle schools in northern provinces are required to incorporate winter sports into their physical education curriculum, while southern schools are encouraged to cooperate with professional clubs to set up winter sports classes. By the end of 2021, 2,897 primary and secondary schools across China had incorporated winter sports and Olympic and Paralympic education into their curriculum. Looking ahead, about 5,000 schools are expected to include winter sports modules by the end of 2025.
The paradox of success: infrastructure versus accessibility
Skiing and snowboarding have grown thanks to the government’s development plan. While government investment achieved the goal of creating more winter sports venues, the challenge of a lack of rental equipment, such as gear and snowboards, persists. China’s winter sports market is still in its infancy, as evidenced by problems like airlines often damaging personal equipment. As a result, nearly two in five participants (38%) rely on rentals instead of purchasing their own equipment. While 61.5% do own personal gear, a significant share of consumers depend on rental services, especially among casual or price-sensitive participants.
Platforms like RedNote (also known as Little Red Book in China) reveal the gap between the perception of skiing as an accessible sport and the financial barrier for beginners. A post, self-deprecatingly titled “穷鬼装备” (“budget-saving equipment”), still totaled over RMB 12,000. While the user opted for cost-saving measures (e.g., secondhand snow pants for RMB 418, discounted brands like Nitro and Union), the final price is still relatively high for entry costs.
The strong driving force of social media on participation
Social media platforms such as the RedNote have played an important role in promoting winter sports in China beyond the athletic aspect. Searches for “dopamine-colored ski suits” (多巴胺色系雪服) increased 430% year-over-year in 2024, with resorts like Chongqing Wanda Snow Park offering color-coordinated rental outfits. Moreover, many tourists go to ski resorts just to take pictures. Jilin’s Changbaishan resorts report 41% of visitors never ski; instead, they pay RMB 300 to 500 per hour for professional slope-side photography sessions. Moreover, Chinese people also use Huabei (滑呗) and Goski (去滑雪), popular skiing and snowboarding community platforms, where they can hire professional photographers to take pictures of them.
Luxury brands have increasingly recognized the potential of winter sports venues as platforms to craft exclusive, experiential marketing campaigns that blend sport, fashion, and culture. In December 2024, Burberry launched a temporary outdoor ice rink in the heart of Beijing, transforming a public urban space into an immersive winter wonderland bathed in the brand’s signature “Knight Blue” hue. While children primarily visited the rink to skate, many adults treated the venue as a “check-in” (打卡) hotspot, capturing photos to share on social media.
The rise of “experience brokers”
A new service category has emerged to cater to aesthetic consumers. Didi Skiers (滴滴代滑帅哥), sometimes even shirtless, are male ski instructors who offer RMB 800 per day “experience packages” that include equipment carrying, photography, and social media content creation.
Five forces behind China’s snow economy
- Backed by long-term government planning, China’s winter sports industry aims to reach RMB 1.5 trillion by 2030, with rapid growth in participation and infrastructure since the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
- Although infrastructure has expanded rapidly, long-term commitment remains low. Many participants still opt for rentals not just due to cost (gear typically ranges from RMB 1,200 to 2,000) but because of uncertainty around skill progression and infrequent participation. This preference has led to rental shortages during peak seasons, suggesting that the barrier lies less in affordability and more in lifestyle mismatch.
- However, the rise of indoor ski and snowboard resorts is reshaping access across the country. These facilities in major urban centers in southern provinces like Guangdong and Zhejiang allow consumers to experience winter sports without traveling to northern China.
- A major shift is underway in the purpose and appeal of the Chinese winter sports industry: aesthetic and social motivations now dominate athletic ones. With 68% of winter sports social media content focused on fashion and photography, tourists increasingly visit resorts not to ski but to take pictures in colorful ski suits and curated settings.
- The consumer demand for aesthetic winter photos has opened new business opportunities. From luxury brand activations like Burberry’s pop-up rink to the rise of “experience brokers” like Didi Skiers who help users craft content for social media, Chinese winter sports industry are as much about the image as the sport itself.
