Work is reported to have commenced on the latest Sunac indoor snow centre, Ice & Snow World, at Xi’an International Trade & Logistics Park in Shaanxi Province in north-west China.

The Sunac Group already operates at least five indoor snow centres in China, including the world’s three largest centres and has at least two more under construction, making it one of the world’s largest operators of indoor snow centres.

The new centre will not compete on size with those three biggest facilities, but seems likely to be in the world top 10 with a 30,000 sq. mt. site footprint. It is reported to have a 5 billion yuan budget and a target of 500,000 visitors per year.

As well as a skiing area, there will be an exhibition centre featuring animation-themed ice sculptures. There will also be a zone designated to snow and a snow entertainment area.

The Xi’an International Trade & Logistics Park was founded in 2008 to create a transport hub in the inland water areas surrounding Xi’an and operates a very busy rail hub serving China’s Central plains as well as freight services to Europe.

In 2020, China-Europe Chang’an freight train operated a total of 3,720 trips and transported 2.81 million metric tons of goods – 1.7 times and 1.6 times that of 2019, respectively.