The Fifth China Altay International Ice ＆ Snow Festival Opens

The Fifth China Altay International Ice & Snow Festival opened recently. This event will last till April 2016.

Major activities include: Altay Ice & Snow Angel Trial, International Ski Forum of Ski Origin and Human Civilization, The Fifth China Altay International Ice & Snow Festival and the Ninth Anniversary of Human Ski Origin, Ski Winter Camp, Ulungur Lake Winter Fishing, The First Kanas Ice & Snow Carving Contest, National Public Speed Ski Marathon (Xinjiang Kanas), The Seventh Kanas Backcountry Snowboarding Invitational, Xinjiang Automobile Championship and Extreme Cold Ice & Snow Challenge (Fuyun), Old Fur Ski Challenge, Extreme Cold Outdoor Camping, Opening Ceremony of Altay Ice & Snow World, Altay Lantern Show and Lantern Festival, The First Kanas Rime Photography Season, Opening Ceremony of the Ninth Kanas Ice & Snow Tourism Season, Kanas Tuvan Folklife Festival, Opening Ceremony of the Fourth Extreme Cold China Fuyun Ice & Snow Tourism, Chonghuer Town Buerjin County Rime Culture Photography Season and so on. This event will forge a feast of 2015-2016 Altay winter tourism. A new dynamic, fashionable, stimulating, breathtaking and romantic travel & leisure experience will be presented to tourists worldwide and local citizens.

Primary study on Altay high-end customized tourism

Altay has been trying to develop high-end customized tourism. An expert said: “high-end customized tourism is an emerging travel product popular with modern tourist groups, focusing on self-experience. Compared to traditional travel, it can further explore regional features and better develop personalized travel products. Tourists will feel more comfortable and convenient and more comprehensive profits will be achieved.” In recent years, tourism industry has developed well in Altay. However, it is still at an early stage in general. Travel products are mainly based on ecotourism and consumption per person is below RMB 800. Comprehensive profits of tourism are disproportionate to local abundant tourism resources, so it is inevitable that Altay will develop high-end customized tourism products.

The guests attending the International One Belt One Road Tourism Cooperation Forum said, Altay’s abundant tourism resources provide a broad space for the development of high-end customized tourism. Altay should center on the six basic tourism elements of eating, sleeping, going, traveling, purchasing and entertaining, as well as the six expanding elements of business, health, study, leisure, love and surprise, to explore regional features and develop personalized tourism products.

Some ideas are advanced like winter travel routes, miles gallery self-drive routes, scientific exploration routes, spa routes, prairie culture experience routes, low altitude travel routes (utility airport and helicopter travel products), grazing photography routes, bird watching photography routes, outdoor hiking (horse riding) routes, fishing routes and so on.

Altay ski origin and winter tourism

Guests of the forum believed Altay has the conditions to build a world ski resort and become an important winter tourism destination of China. Altay is known as the earliest origin of human ski and China’s most beautiful snow country. Human beings learnt ski here and ski went to the world from here. More than 10 thousand years ago, our ancestors in the Altai Mountains invented the fur snowboard built with fir panels and horse leg fur. It helped the ancient people to walk and hunt in the snow. The Altay fur snowboard meets human needs of survival and development, and it has been used till now and evolved into a fashionable international sport.

Winter sports will surely thrive. With the favorable opportunities of 2022 Beijing-Zhangjiakou Winter Olympics and China’s strategy of 300 million people on ice, winter sports and winter tourism will boom in China. On the other hand, Altay has natural advantages to build world-class ski resorts. The Altai Mountains hold rich forms and moderate slope, with suitable altitude and temperature. The wind is not strong and the snow can be as deep as 2 meters in the mountain area. The snow fall period is long and the snow cover period is about 180 days, while the natural ski period is 140—160 days. The snow quality is good and the humidity is moderate. It is called a ski region with the best snow by ski experts at home and abroad. In the last century, Altay used to be the training base of China's national skiing team, China’s army skiing team, and Xinjiang skiing and skating team. It is also the only place where the national skiing & skating champion emerges in Xinjiang. Meanwhile, Altay has built the Ayihai International Ski Resort. In cooperation with Norway and other ski powers, it held international games and forums positively, in an effort to forge a world-class ski resort. Besides, “Human Ski Origin”, “China’s Most Beautiful Snow Country” and “Ulungur Lake Winter Fishing” are also Altay’s characteristic brands to attract tourists.

Conception of constructing Altay cross-border tourism cooperation area

Tourism is a good connection among people from different countries. An expert said the areas around the Altai Mountains include China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Kazakhstan’s East Kazakhstan State, Russia’s Altai Krai, Altai Republic, Mongolia’s Bayan-Ölgiy Aymag and Hovd Aymag. These areas are of good ecological environment, unique custom, kind citizens and stable society. The border areas of Russia and Kazakhstan are famous tourism destinations. It’s common idea to think over development, seek cooperation and long for prosperity for countries and regions around the Altai Mountains. The requirements on developing cross-border tourism are met.

He says Altay has distinct location advantages. It is of 117,800 km2, 670,000 people and 1,197 km border line. It has four Sate A land borders including Jeminay, Aheitubieke, Hongshanzui and Taykexkin. Taykexkin Port and Jeminay Port are open all year round. Taykexkin Port and Jeminay Port are constructed into national AAA level scenic spots. As a very important tourism destination in China’s Xinjing, Altay has two national AAAAA level scenic spots, including Kanas and Keketuo Sea.

There is profound cooperation background and broad development prospect between Altay and the surrounding areas mentioned above. Since the Four Countries Six Parties Mechanism was created in 2002, and after development of more than ten years, as the major area of Xinjiang’s Altai Area, Altay has been expanding its cooperation with the surrounding countries (regions). It has held four consecutive sessions of “China-Mongolia Taykexkin•Bulgan Ports Border Tourism Festival” successfully. It has held two sessions of “Surrounding Altai Area Economic Zone Cooperation Forum” successfully. It has held extensive Altay international tourism custom sports meeting, “Harmony & Beauty Altay” photography competition and the Altai Mountains cross-border tourism cooperation summit.

Altay will first establish the Altai Mountains cross-border tourism cooperation zone first and further cross-border tourism cooperation with the surrounding countries (regions). The cooperation zone will be constructed into a leading zone and demonstration zone for China’s cross-border tourism cooperation, and become an important connection in tourism cooperation of surrounding Altai countries. Many tourism product routes are preliminarily proposed, including Surrounding Altai Four Countries Six Parties Twelve Days Special Tour, China-Russia-Mongolia Cross-boarder Ten Days Special Tour, China-Kazakhstan UKK Five Days Self-drive Tour, Marka Lake-Katongkaliegai Four Days Self-drive Tour, China-Mongolia Altay- Hovd-Bayan Olgii Five Days Cross-border Self-drive Tour, Mongolia’s Bulgan Two Days Self-drive Tour and Dayanghu Two Days Self-drive Tour.

According to introduction, Altay has abundant winter tourism resources, including Five Color City and Keketuo Sea in the east, Burutokay winter fishing and Altay ski resort in the central area, Kanas, Rainbow Beach, and Habahe birch forest in the west. Based on abundant and unique ice & snow and folklife resources, Altay builds the brand of “Ice & Snow Feast Altay” in recent years. It enlarges its resource advantage as “Human Ski Origin” and “China’s Most Beautiful Snow Country” and takes the image of “Human beings learnt ski here and ski went to the world from here”. On the subject of “Celebrate the Winter Games and Boost the Winter Olympics ”, it aims to forge world-class ski resort. By holding The Fifth China Altay International Ice & Snow Festival, with the support from Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, Altay will strengthen the promotion on winter tourism products, construct a winter tourism development pattern, with the ice & snow sports and folklife experience, with Ulungur Lake winter fishing in Fuhai County, Kanas ice & snow tourism and Kanas folklife experience as the main subjects, while featuring festivals and activities of other counties as supplementary.