Winter Wonderland adds warmth to 2025 Spring Festival season

Beijing is bustling with a range of cultural and sports activities to celebrate Chinese New Year, leveraging the city's winter attractions and legacy of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The "Winter Wonderland in Beijing" tourism season kicked off on Jan 9 at Yuyuantan Park. Organized by the Beijing Bureau of Culture and Tourism, the events aim to showcase Beijing's winter tourism resources and celebrate the legacy of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in the lead up to Chinese New Year, which begins on Jan 29.

The series of events are structured around four themes: "experience fun" highlighting winter attractions such as ski resorts and hot springs; "parent-child time" tailored for families; "Chinese New Year" featuring carnivals, temple fairs, lantern festivals, and other festivities; and "winter exclusive" highlighting creativity and Beijing's unique features.

At the same time, Beijing has revealed recommended winter travel routes for each district, offering visitors diverse experiences.

To engage a wider audience, the series of events have set up dedicated pages on platforms such as Meituan, an online services platform, and Dazhong Dianping, the Chinese equivalent of Yelp. Cultural and tourism influencers have been invited to visit winter attractions in each district and share their experiences and distribute coupons during livestream sessions.

Injecting sporting fervor into the Chinese New Year celebrations, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports announced plans to host 49 events across the city. These are expected to attract more than 600,000 visitors.

Among the events are the Chinese Basketball Association 2024-25 season, which is expected to draw nearly 100,000 spectators, and the 10th Public Winter Sports Open, featuring competitions across eight sports categories, including ice fishing, ice soccer, and ice hockey.

The Beijing Ice Dragon Boat Race took place in Yanqing district on Saturday. Nearly 20 teams comprising more than 200 athletes from across the city competed in the event.

As the festive season unfolds, Beijing's ski resorts — including Huaibei Ski Resort, Yuyang Ski Resort, and Shijinglong Ski Resort — are rolling out discounted tickets and "ski and dine packages" for visitors.

The Beijing Bureau of Culture and Tourism said it will enrich winter tourism offerings in collaboration with government departments overseeing sports, landscaping, parks, and other sectors, leveraging the city's unique allure and professional venues from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

huyuyan@chinadaily.com.cn