Li Ya’nan, People’s Daily
With efforts being made in the tourism industry, China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is now turning the whole year into high seasons.
On Dec. 7, Xinjiang Grand Theater in Changji, a Hui autonomous prefecture in the middle north of Xinjiang was packed with audience as a Xinjiang-themed large-scale indoor live-action dance drama was staged there.
A tourist surnamed Zhang who visited Tianchi Lake (“Heavenly Lake”)in Mount Tianshan(“Heavenly Mountain”)a day before told People’s Daily that this show struck her with the beauty of Xinjiang.
A hundred kilometers away, tourists were having fun sliding on the snow at the Silk Road International Ski Resort in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang
A ski enthusiast named Xiong Kai from northwest China’s Qinghai province said it’s been the third consecutive year for him to travel in Xinjiang. “I come here to experience the most dangerous and challenging trail,” he said.
Xiong noted that his travel experience in Xinjiang was fantastic as he could enjoy the winter views of the Kanas Lake after feeling the thrill of skiing. “Xinjiang is an amazing place. The people are very nice, and so is the natural scenery.”
As the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is approaching, Xinjiang, a region that enjoys rich resources of winter tourism, is taking the sector as an important way to transform and upgrade its tourism, so as to promote the comprehensive development of related industries.
At present, new winter tourism activities are being constantly launched there, such as horse racing on snow, tug-of-war on ice and winter-fishing, presenting another form of beauty of the region for tourists from home and abroad.
Urumqi has built world-class ski trails; Altay has developed a snow resort in Hemu village, Kanas; and the Tianchi Lake in Mount Tianshan has largely promoted its hot spring resorts.
During the 14th Xinjiang Winter Tourism Trade Fair held in Altay last month, 14 prefectures and cities in Xinjiang launched more than 400 cultural and tourist activities of local characteristics, displaying local culture and customs of Xinjiang and presenting road trip routes that offer in-depth experiences.
“Autumn is the best season to visit Urumqi. As the weather cools, the city is shrouded by colors and scent of ripe fruits. But now I feel the winter in Xinjiang is also marvelous.” That’s the comment from all visitors that have experienced the beauty of Xinjiang in winter.
In recent years, Xinjiang has taken great efforts to boost spring and winter tourism and improve both software and hardware for the sector, turning its rich winter tourism resources into new economic growth points and building itself into a favored tourist destination all year round.
To be specific, the region steadfastly improved its infrastructure and rolled out favorable policies. So far, 11 prefectures and cities have adopted a total of 41 incentives such as ticket discount for tourism attractions and flights, as well as subsidies for air charters.
Statistics indicated that before 2006, Xinjiang received only 900,000 tourists in winter each year, and the number jumped to 30 million by the end of 2018. In the first 10 months of 2019, Xinjiang received 202 million tourists from home and abroad, up 42.62 percent year on year.
“We were only busy in summer, but now the whole year is peak time,” said a herder in Altay who has doubled his income by horse rental in summer and selling customized fur snowboards in winter.
Meanwhile, an industrial park in Fuhai county, Altay has been built and put into operation. The industrial park, which specializes in manufacturing snowboards and ice skating boots, is the first maker of ice and snow sports equipment of the county, improving local employment and making wealth for more and more people.
Fishermen harvest fish from Bosten Lake in Bohu county, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Oct 12, 2019. Photo by Nian Lei
新疆：从“一季游”到“四季游”
人民日报记者 李亚楠
12月7日，新疆大剧院停车场，几辆大巴车拉来一批批游客，剧院内座无虚席，大型室内实景民族歌舞秀《千回西域》正在这里上演。来自成都的游客张女士告诉记者，昨天她游览了天山天池，今天赶来看个演出，深深感受到了新疆的美。
100多公里外乌鲁木齐丝绸之路国际滑雪场，来自青海的滑雪爱好者熊凯正在雪道上炫技，“我是来体验艾文道的，这是滑雪场最危险也是最具挑战性的一条道！”这是他连续第三个冬天来新疆旅游，“享受完滑雪的刺激，还能一睹冬日的喀纳斯，体验非常棒！新疆是个好地方，当地人很友好，美景就更不用说了！”
随着2022年冬奥会的临近，冰雪资源丰富的新疆正以此为依托，将冬季旅游作为旅游业转型升级的重要突破口，推动旅游产业全面发展。
雪地赛马、冰上拔河、博斯腾湖冬捕……花样迭出的冬季旅游项目让海内外游客以另一种方式“打开新疆”。乌鲁木齐市打造世界顶级滑雪赛道，素有“雪都”之称的阿勒泰地区开发喀纳斯禾木极美雪乡冰雪旅游度假区，天山天池景区围绕冰雪风光主打温泉度假……不久前举行的第十四届新疆冬季旅游产业交易博览会上，全疆14个地州市以“新疆是个好地方——畅游丝路 乐享冰雪”为主题，突出当地特色，向公众推介民俗风情游、自驾深度游等400多项文化旅游活动。“不仅瓜果飘香的金秋时节值得游玩，新疆的冬天也很美！”这是领略过新疆冬日美景的游客由衷的赞叹。
近年来，新疆扩大冬春旅游市场规模，提升冰雪旅游软硬件设施，将富集的冬季旅游资源优势转化为经济发展的新增长点，旅游业从“一季游”向“四季游”大步迈进。基础设施建设提升，各类优惠政策也层出不穷，目前已有11个地州市推出包括冬季景区门票优惠、航线折扣、包机奖励等各类旅游优惠奖励政策41项。
据统计，2006年以前，新疆冬季旅游人数仅为90余万人次，2018年年底这一数字已上升到3000万人次以上，2019年1月至10月新疆接待国内外游客20192.87万人次，同比增长42.62%。
“以前只有夏天忙，现在一年四季都很忙。”阿勒泰地区哈巴河县加依勒玛乡牧民加尔恒•饿肯端起了旅游“铁饭碗”，他夏天给游客出租马匹、冬季则向游客出售订制毛皮滑雪板，收入比以前多了一倍。离他家不远的福海县，工业园区已建成投产，生产滑雪板和冰刀冰鞋等滑雪用具，填补了当地冰雪装备制造产业的空白，带动越来越多的当地人就业致富。
2019年10月12日，在新疆博斯腾湖，渔民正在捕鱼。年磊摄
新疆阿勒泰地区额尔齐斯河冬日美景。 刘是何摄
2019年11月27日，第十四届新疆冬季旅游产业交易博览会在阿勒泰开幕。图为人们在新疆阿勒泰市将军山滑雪体验脚踏毛皮滑雪板古老滑雪。 张秀科摄
新疆赛里木湖冬日美景。 侯宝成摄
