Nation's snow destinations attract tourists from SE Asia

KUNMING — 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 springlike climate.

But after seeing photos on social media of her friends posing in the snow in Kunming, 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, ice-falls and soft frost, 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.

Thanks to its snow-capped mountains and geographical proximity, Yunnan is becoming a popular destination for Southeast Asians. A growing number of Southeast Asian tourists are traveling to snow attractions in Yunnan, thanks to the China-Laos Railway, more direct flights and more efficient customs procedures.

Beyond Kunming, Dechen 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 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 Dechen 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.

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.