Christmas might be long gone by then, but that won’t stop the sleigh being rolled out at the first Nanjing Winter Olympics Ice and Snow Festival, providing the local international community with an interesting leisure option in lieu of escaping China this winter.

To he held from 1 January until 27 February, the Festival shall take place in Hall C of the Nanjing International Exhibition Centre on Longpan Lu. With the theme of “playing and enjoying snow”, the three highlights of the Festival shall be a ski slope, various snow-based entertainment and a Nordic ice and snow area.

The reasonably generously-sized ski slope, measuring 160 metres by 30 metres with a 20 percent incline, shall offer ski slope of around 20 degrees. The slope shall accommodate both straight and s-curved ski runs, according to Nanjing local treasures.

In addition to the more traditional ice and snow sports, the 10,000-square-metre Festival shall also have on offer activities such as sledging, a snow labyrinth and sleigh riding.

Elsewhere at the first Nanjing Winter Olympics Ice and Snow Festival, the Nordic Snowy Town is being billed as, “a happy, fairy-tale kingdom”, and as such should make ideal entertainment for young Disney enthusiasts.

Early bird tickets are at time of writing priced at ¥59. They can be purchased online by first following the Nanjing Local Treasures official WeChat account (南京本地宝), and then by sending the message “冰雪节” (Ice & Snow Festival), which will bring up the ticket information and purchase page. 

The Festival in Nanjing is part of a nationwide effort to drum up interest in winter sports that has been underway in recent years ahead of the global Winter Olympics of 2022. Much as been achieved already, with the number of ski resorts in China growing by 80 percent between 2015 and 2018.

As well as bringing about health benefits for Chinese people, there is needless to say a financial incentive. In 2017, the scale of the Chinese winter sports industry amounted to ¥397 billion; the target by 2025 being ¥1 trillion. 

Should that goal be accomplished, the industry will account for some 20 percent of global sporting revenues, according to China Daily.

Under the Chinese government’s national-level plan, “Promotion Plan of Mass Winter Sports”, that seeks to promote interest in winter sports and further expand the market and participation, it is hoped to engage over 300 million Chinese in all types of winter sports by 2025.