KUNMING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- For as long as Nguyen Khanh Linh can remember, snow has been a rare sight across southern China, especially in Kunming, which is known for its year-round spring-like climate.
But after seeing photos on social media of her friends posing in the snow in Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, which borders Vietnam, the Vietnamese woman was inspired to embark on her own trip there.
"Taking the high-speed train to see the snow in Yunnan is cost-effective," Nguyen said. After arriving in the border county of Hekou in Yunnan from Hanoi, she took a bullet train to Kunming and then traveled to Jiaozi Snow Mountain in northern Kunming.
At 4,223 meters above sea level, Jiaozi Snow Mountain is one of China's lowest-altitude snow-capped peaks in winter, and an increasingly popular destination for Southeast Asian tourists. With its icy lakes, icefalls and soft rime, the mountain offers a magical escape from the tropics.
"I had breakfast at home in Hanoi and then could feed seagulls and see the snow in Kunming by the afternoon. It's so convenient," Nguyen said.
While China's northeastern regions are synonymous with ice and snow tourism, Yunnan is carving out its own niche. Thanks to its snow-capped mountains and geographical proximity, it is becoming a popular destination for Southeast Asians.
The Jiaozi Snow Mountain scenic area has seen a surge in travelers from Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia. From Nov. 1, 2024 to Jan. 6 this year, it received 3,153 tourists from Thailand and 6,106 from Vietnam.
Thu Hang of Elite Tour in Vietnam told Xinhua that they have brought five tour groups to Jiaozi Snow Mountain every week recently.
A growing number of Southeast Asian tourists are traveling to the snow attractions in Yunnan, thanks to the China-Laos Railway, more direct flights, and more efficient customs procedures.
Beyond Kunming, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan alone boasts over 100 peaks with an altitude of over 5,000 meters. In Diqing's Shangri-la City, the Seven Star Snow ski resort opened in late 2024.
Zhuang Zhiping, chairman of Diqing Tourism Group, said that it is the northern hemisphere's lowest-latitude alpine ski resort closest to Southeast Asia.
The opening of a railway linking Lijiang with Shangri-La in late 2023 helped to fuel tourism. Between January and October 2024, tourist arrivals from Southeast Asia to Diqing rose by 139 percent year on year to over 150,000, local official data showed.
Other snow destinations in neighboring regions are also attracting foreign visitors. Jiuzhaigou scenic area in Sichuan Province, with its dazzling blue lakes and dramatic snow-covered vistas, has attracted more tourists from countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore, thanks to the expanded visa-free policy and the opening of a high-speed railway.
Malaysian traveler King Chew, who spent her New Year holiday there, said the trip was her first experience with snow. "The winter beauty of Jiuzhaigou doesn't need photo filters," she said.
Li Donghai, an assistant researcher at the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, said the stunning snow scenery and close proximity have made Jiuzhaigou and other neighboring high-altitude scenic spots ideal snow attractions for tourists from Southeast Asia.
For cities in southern China where snowfall is rare, indoor ski resorts offer an alternative. According to a ski industry white paper, China has six of the world's top 10 indoor ski resorts in cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.
The resorts offer a unique experience to play in freezing indoor facilities while the weather is warm outside. Recently, social media was abuzz with news of an indoor ski resort in Guangzhou crowded with Southeast Asian tourists.
According to travel platform Qunar, searches for "skiing," "snow and ice," and "hot springs" jumped 170 percent in December 2024 compared to the previous month. Interest in snow mountains in southern China is also growing.
China aims to boost its ice and snow economy as a new growth sector, targeting an economic scale of 1.5 trillion yuan (about 208.6 billion U.S. dollars) by 2030, according to guidelines issued by the General Office of the State Council in late 2024. ■