New ice park warms hearts in Jilin

A winter wonderland, which is already a hot destination, was created in just over two weeks in December in Changchun, capital of Jilin province. A total of 5,000 people worked continuously in shifts and completed the construction of an ice and snow amusement park.

A 21-meter-high Olympic torch building and a 420-meter-long slide, both made from ice and snow, are awaiting certification from the Guinness World Records as the world's highest building of its kind and the longest slide, respectively.

They are among the 130 pieces of ice and snow structures on display at the Changchun Ice and Snow World.

Built with more than 300,000 cubic meters of ice and snow, the 1.08-million-square-meter park is the first of its kind large-scale winter park in the province.

Planned in October, work began in early December and opened at the end of the month. The snow park reflects the city's determination to turn itself into a winter tourism destination and be more than a transportation hub.

"Thanks to the 2022 Winter Olympics, we believe Jilin's ice and snow industry will achieve fast growth, and Jilin will be a world-class ice and snow tourism destination," says Bayin Chaolu, Party secretary of the province.

With the approaching of the 2022 Winter Olympics, which will be hosted in Beijing and Zhangjiakou of Hebei province, the government has introduced various measures to encourage "300 million people to join in ice and snow sports".

Jilin, although not a host venue for the Winter Olympics, aims to play its role and promote its winter industry.