To enrich cultural activities during the Spring Festival holiday and boost winter sports, Datong in Shanxi province offered local residents activities based around ice and snow events, on Dec 24.

The event, named "Tongle Ice and Snow Cultural Festival", was hosted at Tongle Ice World, an ice-themed amusement park at the square to the southeast corner of the Ancient City of Datong. Covering 53,000 square meters and equipped with a one-hectare parking lot, the park can house up to 3,000 visitors.

Visitors experience ice slides at the opening ceremony of Tongle Ice World, an ice-themed amusement park, on Dec 24 in Datong. [Photo/sxgov.cn]

There are 25 recreation programs for people to choose from, such as the snow maze, snowball fight and ice slide. Combing arts, culture and sports, these programs are aimed at enticing local residents to experience winter sports.

During the two-month event, various activities, including free skiing training and the fifth Datong Online Spring Festival Gala will be held. Professional skiers like Guo Dandan will be invited to provide skiing instruction to visitors. Also, the park will regularly hold raffles during the festival, which ends on Feb 20.

Guo Dandan, a former freestyle skier, skis in Datong on Dec 24 at the opening ceremony of Tongle Ice World.[Photo/sxgov.cn]