URUMQI -- After a 4,000-kilometer flight from Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, to Altay, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Wang Ao, a skiing enthusiast, said he had traveled back from spring to winter.

The Koktokay international ski resort in Altay, was Wang's destination. With its highest altitude hitting 3,041 meters and lowest 1,821 meters, the resort features a vertical drop of over 1,200 meters.

As one of the ski resorts with the longest operating season in China, from October to May of the following year, the resort received more than 120,000 skiers this March.

After the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, ski resorts have gained growing popularity in China. More people are participating in winter sport activities, creating more needs for the construction of ski and skating facilities.

Thanks to its high mountainous terrain, heavy snowfall, excellent snow quality, and low winds, several high-standard ski resorts have been built in Altay in recent years.

"Skiing on natural snow slopes in April is a rare treat, and it's definitely worth traveling thousands of miles for the experience," said Su Hong, head of the Bonski Member club.

Su organized over 150 skiing enthusiasts to charter a plane from the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou last month, where spring had already arrived, to the Koktokay international ski resort, where they landed in a white world after taking in views of greenery and warmth.

Data shows that from the 2016-2017 snow season to the 2021-2022 snow season, the number of tourists to Altay had increased from 1.94 million to 11.96 million.

To cater for the growing number of skiers, local authorities have constructed airports near the three major ski resorts of Jiangjun Mountain, Koktokay and Jikepulin, and built tarmac roads from the airports to the resorts.

The long snow season has also made Altay a suitable training ground for many professional ski teams. "There are rich terrains and large areas for ski resort construction, which is ideal for both racing and skill skiing. The high altitude enables it to be a training base for endurance events as well," said Zhang Yiwei, a member of China's snowboard halfpipe national team, after skiing at Koktokay.

On April 8, China's first ski mountaineering championship kicked off at Koktokay. "The environment here is very similar to the competition venues in Europe. There are few such high altitude snow resorts in China, and the temperature is relatively warm, which is conducive to athletes' performance," said Li Zhenlong, an official of the Chinese Mountaineering Association.

The high-level professional event allowed more people see the top quality conditions and services available at Koktokay. In the future, we will actively strive to host more professional and high-level skiing events, to create a landmark of skiing in China, said Feng Kai, deputy director of Koktokay international ski resort.