Shivering with delight as winter tourism season begins early

The earlier-than-usual temperature drop has made people shiver with cold while bringing forward the winter tourism season, travel industry insiders said.

Domestic travel portal Tuniu forecasts that the market will see the first winter tourism surge around the solar term Xiaoxue, or Minor Snow, which signifies increasingly colder temperatures and frequent movements of cold waves. This year, Xiaoxue fell on Nov 22.

Meanwhile, Tuniu said the winter tourism peak will occur around students' winter break and the Spring Festival holiday, which falls in mid-February 2026.

The company added that residents from eastern and southern regions such as Shanghai, Zhejiang and Guangdong have shown a stronger desire for winter tourism, accounting for over 70 percent of total winter tourism-related bookings on the platform.

"The winter tourism season is starting roughly one to two weeks earlier than in previous years, because of the sharp cold wave," said Qi Chunguang, vice-president of Tuniu. He added that domestic winter destinations in China's northeastern and northwestern provinces and regions, like Harbin in Heilongjiang and Altay in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, are currently the most attractive to winter tourists.

He cited Xinjiang as an example, saying that domestically, it's the earliest place to start the ski season around mid-October. The region offers high-quality snow, winter resorts, beautiful snow views and discounted flight tickets during winter, which lure ski lovers nationwide.

Heartening reports also come from LY.com, another travel portal, which said flight ticket bookings on its platform from major domestic cities to winter destinations, including Harbin in Heilongjiang, Urumqi and Altay in Xinjiang, and Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia autonomous region, have surged since the beginning of this month.

LY.com said that flight tickets to these top winter destinations will see a significant rise around Jan 1, 2026, as will hotel room prices at these locations.

"Many of our users have made early bookings for hotels in Harbin and other popular winter tourism destinations, scheduling their trips for late November and December. Based on our data, hotel room prices in places like Harbin will remain high from mid-December to the Spring Festival holiday in February," LY.com said.

Tian Zeng'ai, 32, took her son on the year's first snow trip to Keketuohai in Altay, Xinjiang, on Nov 13. "My six-year-old son loves snow and he can't wait to see the snow fairyland and experience skiing! We live in Chengdu, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, where it doesn't snow very often," she said.

Qi Chunguang from Tuniu said he has high hopes for the winter tourism market as people have shown not only a stronger desire for winter tourism products but also diversified demands for these products. Thus, winter sports like skiing, snow sightseeing and indoor winter theme parks will all see thriving business.

Several local authorities are making the most of this surge in winter tourism popularity. The education bureau of Altay in Xinjiang recently announced that students in compulsory education — from primary school to junior high school — will have the first "snow break" from Dec 1 to Dec 5, according to the culture and tourism authorities of Altay.

Diversified events with discounted offers will be available to students in the area, including discounted tickets to ski resorts, discounted hotel rooms and free public transportation in Altay.