Photo taken on Jan. 14, 2022 shows a snow sculpture during the 28th Harbin snow sculpture competition at the Harbin Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Exposition in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.Photo:Xinhua

China's State Council, the cabinet, issued comprehensive guidelines on Wednesday to boost the vitality of the ice and snow economy with the high-quality development of ice and snow sports. 

The guidelines, issued by the General Office of the State Council, include promoting youth participation in ice and snow sports, enhancing infrastructure and the industrial chain, and the creation of leading enterprises in the sector.

Building on the momentum of 300 million Chinese who have participated in ice and snow sports annually, the guidelines target the ice and snow economy reaching 1.2 trillion yuan ($167.64 billion) by 2027, with better infrastructure, markedly improved services, and enhanced national competitiveness in those sports.

By 2030, main winter sports foundations will achieve coordinated and integrated development, playing a more prominent role in expanding employment and promoting high-quality development and creating new growth opportunities for the overall economy, according to the guidelines.

Several high-quality destinations for ice and snow sports and tourism will be developed, while the "Ice and Snow Silk Road" and the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Ice and Snow Sports Demonstration Area will advance further in development, with the ice and snow economy reaching 1.5 trillion yuan in economic size, per the guidelines.

Song Kui, an industry expert based in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, told the Global Times on Wednesday there remains a vast amount of untapped potential for ice and snow sports. 

"And the development of ice and snow sports can be interlinked with ice and snow tourism, and a number of upstream and downstream industries such as equipment making and hotel services are significant," Song said.

During this year's three-day New Year holiday, a record 3.05 million tourists visited Harbin, renowned as the "crown jewel of ice and snow" in the country, with the city generating tourism revenue of 5.91 billion yuan, according to Xinhua.

E-commerce portals and retailers in China are reporting brisk sales of winter sports gears, as the upcoming 9th Asian Winter Games Harbin 2025 is injecting new vitality into China's booming ice and snow economy.

French multi-specialist sports brand Decathlon said it has seen rising demand for a variety of winter sports gears at its stores in China since last year, with robust annual growth rate in the range of 150-300 percent.

Ski gear is one such fast-growing category, with sales of snowboards typically sold to young people surging by 108 percent in 2023, according to a post sent to the Global Times by the company.

Data from e-commerce platform JD.com showed that since November last year, the transaction volume of ski suits has increased by 180 percent year-on-year, and the transaction volume of ski equipment has increased by more than 150 percent year-on-year. 

The emergence of domestic winter sports brands has provided consumers with more diversified and personalized choices, the e-commerce giant said.

The guidelines aim to establish three to five globally recognized ice and snow tourist resorts in locations such as Beijing, Hebei Province, Heilongjiang Province, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Following the release of the government guidelines, several A-share listed companies focused on ice and snow sports saw a significant rise in their share prices on Wednesday.