Online searches for indoor ski resorts spiked 170 percent year-over-year in December, according to data from the country that now has around 60 indoor snow centres.

China continues to push ahead with a fast-growing winter sports industry, three years after the Beijing Winter Olympics.

It is already home to the world’s five largest indoor snow centres, with more, including several even larger than the new biggest which opened in Shanghai last September, set to open in 2025.

A new report puts the number of ski areas in the country at around 740, the most in the world by some measures, although after rapid growth in the 2010s, the number has not changed much since it passed 700 before the pandemic.

According to the report, the number of people engaging in ice-and-snow leisure tourism in China during the 2024-25 winter season is projected to exceed 500 million. If that happens it will be an almost 25% increase from the 385 million reported last winter.

Previous reports have indicated that around 1 in 5 Chinese ski days is on indoor snow, giving a potential 100 million indoor skiers this season.  

China’s State Council has recently released a new plan to continue to boost its winter sports industry and  grow its ice-and-snow economy to 1.5 trillion yuan ($206 billion US) by 2030.

The new plan also prioritizes the integration of key winter sports into the physical education curriculum in China’s schools, encouraging young people to embrace snow sports. To help foster this  a nationwide system of youth competitions will be rolled out across various age groups, providing opportunities for young skiers to improve their skills.