As night falls, Harbin Ice and Snow World transforms into a dazzling spectacle, its outline resembling a dreamlike landscape. Here, it warmly welcomes visitors from around the world to join in the winter wonderland carnival.
It's not just Harbin; this winter, especially during the New Year's Day holiday, many places across the country, including Xinjiang, Jilin, Beijing, and Hebei, are rapidly unlocking new ways to enjoy ice and snow. With "snow holidays" on, special trains running, and ski resorts reopening, ice and snow consumption is rapidly heating up in a more innovative way.
"Ice and snow consumption is a new type of consumption that has accelerated its rise in recent years under the guidance of policies and the upgrading of consumption structure. It combines the attributes of sports, culture and tourism and industry, and has now gradually grown into a huge market with a scale of nearly one trillion yuan," said Gao Zhengyang, a special researcher at Sushang Bank, in an interview with the Financial Times.
Ice and snow consumption is driving the transformation of ice and snow resources in various regions into ecological, economic and social benefits. At the same time, the banking industry is using financial innovation as a link to exert efforts from multiple dimensions such as credit support, payment convenience and consumption incentives to continuously inject momentum into ice and snow consumption and fully release the consumption potential of "cold resources".
Banks launch promotional activities to lower the barrier to ice and snow consumption.
From the Harbin Ice and Snow World's super ice slide to Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia's Ice and Snow Nadam Fair, and Zhangjiakou in Hebei's "skiing + hot springs" and "skiing + study tours" combined routes, innovations in ice and snow consumption are emerging one after another.
According to the "China Ice and Snow Economy Development Report (2025)," during the 2024-2025 ice and snow season, residents' participation in ice and snow sports and the resulting consumption exceeded 187.5 billion yuan, an increase of over 25% compared to the previous ice and snow season. The number of ice and snow tourists has exceeded 300 million for three consecutive ice and snow seasons.
The 2025 Central Economic Work Conference proposed unleashing the potential of service consumption. Taking multiple measures to promote the expansion and improvement of ice and snow consumption is timely. Many banking institutions have launched activities such as "instant discounts on ice and snow consumption" and "points redemption for skiing privileges," lowering the consumption threshold through affordable benefits and encouraging more people to participate in ice and snow consumption.
Kao Cheng-yang stated that from the demand side, winter sports are gradually shifting from a niche experience to a mass leisure activity, with the consumer base continuing to expand towards families and younger demographics, while also extending to lower latitude regions. The content of consumption is also gradually expanding from simple ski tickets to diversified areas such as equipment purchases, skills training, and winter tourism.
It is understood that when Mr. and Mrs. Li purchased a winter tourism package through the "Qunar Travel" platform, they used their China Construction Bank credit card to make installment payments, thus being among the first to enjoy consumer credit benefits under the "two new" policy framework. This initiative is a vivid example of CCB's implementation of the full-chain integration of "credit + scenario + payment." The accompanying "Winter Chess Romance" themed event further deepens the integration of financial services with winter culture consumption, making it a popular destination for tourists.
Financial empowerment of the ice and snow economy industrial chain
It is worth noting that behind the boom in ice and snow consumption, a complete ice and snow economy industrial chain is gradually taking shape. From north to south, from traditional ice and snow projects to a constant stream of new "ice and snow+" scenarios, what is "heating up" is not only ice and snow consumption itself, but also driving the vigorous development of the entire industrial chain, including domestic equipment manufacturing and destination catering and accommodation services.
Currently, ski resorts in Changping District, Beijing, are covered in snow and bustling with tourists. This snow season, Changping District has seen a significant boost in ice and snow tourism, especially during the New Year's Day holiday, when ski resorts such as Jundushan and Jingzhihu saw peak visitor numbers. Family skiing and snow entertainment were particularly popular, leading to increased spending at surrounding resort hotels, hot spring guesthouses, and specialty restaurants.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Changping Branch in Beijing, in collaboration with numerous ski resorts and surrounding hotels and merchants, has established a "snow and ice + finance" consumption ecosystem. They have launched various discounts, including "¥100 off for every ¥1000 spent" and "¥50 off for every ¥500 spent," covering ticketing, ski equipment, dining, and accommodation. The bank allows customers to directly enjoy these discounts through offline card swiping or QR code scanning, effectively reducing costs for tourists and increasing their willingness to spend. Data shows that during the bank's "Snow and Ice Carnival" themed discount campaign, the number of transactions at participating merchants increased by 35% year-on-year, and credit card spending exceeded 20 million yuan.
"From the supply side, ice and snow consumption places high demands on infrastructure construction, operation and management capabilities, and comprehensive service levels. Its development can effectively drive the upgrading of the equipment manufacturing industry, promote the deep integration of culture and tourism, and thus contribute to the high-quality development of the regional economy. Overall, ice and snow consumption has a strong industrial driving effect and broad long-term growth potential, but in the future, it still needs to continue to work hard to lower the barriers to entry, improve service quality, and enhance the sustainability of consumption," said Gao Zhengyang.
Efforts from both the industry and consumer sides
The booming consumption of ice and snow products is inseparable from the combination of an effective market and a capable government.
In November 2024, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Stimulating the Vitality of the Ice and Snow Economy through the High-Quality Development of Ice and Snow Sports," which pointed the way for the high-quality development of the ice and snow economy. Since then, the scale of my country's ice and snow industry has achieved a leap, and it is expected to exceed one trillion yuan in 2025.
How can the banking industry help convert more "traffic" from ice and snow sports into "retained" consumption?
Lou Feipeng, a researcher at China Postal Savings Bank, told the Financial Times that the banking industry should deeply embed itself into the entire ice and snow economy chain through digital financial means, exerting efforts from both the industry and consumption ends to drive consumption upgrades and build a new ecosystem. First, leveraging digital technology to empower the ice and snow industry and precisely support its industrial and supply chains. The banking industry can provide full-cycle financial support to the ice and snow industry through digital risk control and supply chain finance, covering key aspects such as ice and snow equipment manufacturing, venue construction, and cultural tourism operations, thereby improving the quality of ice and snow economic supply and better meeting consumer demand. Second, activating consumption potential through scenario-based finance to drive ice and snow consumption upgrades. The banking industry can embed digital financial tools into ice and snow consumption scenarios, improving payment convenience and consumer willingness, and promoting the upgrade of ice and snow consumption from "experience-based" to "normalized." Third, building a full-chain service system through ecological collaboration to create a new financial ecosystem for the ice and snow industry. The banking industry can integrate government, enterprise, and user resources through cross-sector cooperation and platform building to construct a "finance + industry + consumption" service ecosystem for the ice and snow economy, improving the experience and satisfaction of ice and snow consumption.
Gao Zhengyang believes that banking institutions can further focus on lowering the barriers to ice and snow sports consumption. Banks can innovate financial products and services around ice and snow sports-related scenarios, and reduce the financial burden on consumers to participate in ice and snow sports through preferential methods such as credit card installment payments, special consumer loans, and instant discounts for scenario-based payments, thereby stimulating consumption willingness and increasing consumption frequency.
