The resort received more than 1,000 people who wanted to ski on Jan 1.

Another ski resort called Yushe is about 20 minutes by car from downtown of Liupanshui. Zou Jiaqi was practicing skiing in late January there. The student from Guizhou University of Finance and Economics says he "fell for skiing" when he first tried it several years ago.

"It's great to be able to ski here without having to go to northern China," Zou says.

He has also started to promote winter tourism in Liupanshui with his fellow students, as they wanted to do something for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Games. According to the Beijing 2022"legacy report", about 346 million people in China have participated in winter sports or ice-and-snow leisure activities since the city won the bid to host the Winter Games in 2015.That figure exceeded the preset goal of 300 million.

"Once you fall for skiing, you wouldn't give it up," says Dai Donghui, general manager of Yushe, adding that ski business has potential in the region.

The resort offers skiing, snow sightseeing and other recreational experiences, with local foods of the south. Yushe has also increased winter-fun programs for children. Snowfield roller-coaster rides and snow-tubing have been added, as well as a "pink world "with dyed snow for visitors to take photos.

The resort sits in the Yushe National Forest Park and snow covers an area of 126,000 square meters of it. Travelers can also get easy access to hot springs amid the trees and get in close touch with nature.

"We made a point of developing ski tracks for junior and intermediate players," Dai says, adding that there is a difference in skiing between the country's north and south.