The world's largest indoor ski resort located in Shanghai, a city that rarely gets snow in the winter, has become a popular new winter sports venue, attracting thousands of skiers, though many of them are just local amateurs, every day since it opened to the public last year, offering ski enthusiasts a snow-like experience at a convenient facility in the vicinity of home.

Situated in the city's Pudong New Area and covering an area of 350,000 square meters, the L+SNOW Indoor Skiing Theme Resort not only allows people to ski but also offers them a fantasy winter wonderland experience as soon as they step inside.

Zhao Guohao, a full-time instructor at the ski resort, said that most of the visitors are amateur skiers, so the demand for coaching has been quite high.

"I have about 60 lessons to teach about every month at peak times, serving up to 70 or 80 students. There have been many people coming since the resort opened in September," Zhao said.

With the new ski venue close to home, skiers in Shanghai now have a nice option that eliminates the need to travel to China's colder northern regions where snow is more common.

"It's convenient. I don't need to go to the north," said an amateur skier.

"I travelled to Chongli [in north China's Hebei Province] to ski in the past. But that's too far. As this new place opened, I want to come experience it," said another ski enthusiast.

In China, there are some 12.8 million people who skied during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, a year-on-year increase of some 15 percent. The strong consumption power in the affluent Yangtze River Delta in east China is a key factor in the robust development of snow resorts in Shanghai.

"People are willing to pay for skiing and related entertainment here. Shanghai is in the core area of the Yangtze River Delta region in east China, where there are ice and snow sports enthusiasts, families with children, white-collar workers who have strong consumption power," said Wang Hui, deputy general manager of L+SNOW.

The large indoor snow world in Shanghai gives people a taste of what it's like in colder regions of northern China. Such places are also driving the local economy, with new shops, restaurants and hotels opening their doors to welcome visitors.