Liupanshui, Guizhou Province, is still cool in May and June.
There are many stories related to the Red Army in the history of this city, which has an average temperature of 19.7 degrees Celsius in summer and is known as the “cool capital of China”. The Second and Sixth Red Army Corps held the “Panxian Conference” here and decided to cross the Jinsha River in the north. This meeting is of great significance to the meeting of the Second and Fourth Red Front Army and the following three main forces of the Red Army.
Liupanshui has also experienced the era of “third line construction”. In the 1960s, Liuzhi, Panxian and Shuicheng counties in Guizhou Province were positioned by the central government as important coal industrial bases in southwest and south China, hence the name “Liupanshui”. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country have rushed to this place, “good people are good at the third line”.
In recent years, this young city has shown new vitality in the development of characteristic tourism – young people in Guizhou and even surrounding provinces always like to go to Liupanshui when talking about skiing.
In 2013, Liupanshui Yushe Snow Mountain Ski Resort was put into use, becoming the first ski resort in Guizhou. Now there are 8 ski resorts in Guizhou, including 3 in Liupanshui.
Fifty kilometers away from the Yushe Snow Mountain Ski Resort, the Meihua Mountain Scenic Area has also welcomed a hot passenger flow, which is the largest ski resort in southwest China. Like other ski resorts in Liupanshui, around the middle of December every year, when the temperature is low enough, the snowmaker will start to make snow for three or five days. When the grass is covered with ice and snow, and then the snow is compacted by the snow roller, you can prepare for the opening to welcome guests.
Ye Shuai, manager of publicity and marketing department of Meihua Mountain Scenic Spot, has worked here since the ski resort opened in January 2016, and has witnessed the development of skiing from cold to hot. He found that when the ski resort began to operate, most tourists were skiing for the first time. Now many tourists have skied and brought their family or friends to experience it in winter. This year, many tourists have tried skiing for the first time due to the influence of the Winter Olympic Games. Many of them come from outside Guizhou Province.
Skiing has also become a new parent-child activity. The Meihua Mountain scenic area is surrounded by a fence with a snow play area of 3400 square meters. Children can ride sleds, drive snow bumper cars, play snow circles, and so on, accompanied by adults.
Ye Shuai noticed that during the Spring Festival holidays and weekends, there are many tourists to ski resorts, about two or three thousand people a day, and more than 5000 people at most.
In this small southwestern city, ice and snow programs are also becoming popular among young people. Last year, Liupanshui provided 26000 places for teenagers to experience skiing for free.
In recent years, Liupanshui Education Bureau and the Sports Bureau have cooperated to hold activities such as “ice and snow sports on campus”. The equipment and equipment of ice and snow sports are expensive, and the school funds are limited, while roller skating and skating, pulley and skiing have a high degree of similarity respectively. Schools cultivate students’ interest in ice and snow sports by means of “roller skating” and “roller skating”. The Sports Bureau introduces professional coaches to teach students.
At present, seven primary schools in Liupanshui have been rated as the national youth school with ice and snow characteristics, and one middle school has been rated as the Olympic education demonstration school for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games and the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing.
As the first area to carry out ice and snow sports in Guizhou, Liupanshui selected 43 athletes in 2017 and sent them to Heilongjiang for professional training. In June 2021, Liupanshui curling team participated in the national curling championship on behalf of Guizhou and won the third place in the men’s team; In January 2021, Wen Ying of Liupanshui won the second place in women’s 30km (free technology) in the National Cross-country Skiing Championships.
Now the ski season is over, the ice and snow are melting, and the hillside is covered with grass. Here, grass skiing enthusiasts and campers are welcomed in succession. In another month or two, when the hot weather surrounds most parts of the country, people who want to avoid the heat will pour into the only “cool capital” in the country to enjoy the comfort of natural “air conditioning”. Skiing, summer vacation, sports, health care and other elements have become the unique label of Liupanshui’s tourism development.