The winter sports trend soars, thanks to dramatic “ice and snow kung fu” videos and international sporting events. 

Recently, videos of young skiers dressed in Neo-Chinese style clothes – outfits that combine traditional and modern Chinese elements – went viral online on Chinese social media. In these videos, young men and women wearing different kinds of traditional Chinese outfits ride across snowfields in the wind like the ancient flying swordsmen in the martial arts novels, creating a romantic and enthralling spectacle.

The beautiful traditional garments combined with freedom inherent in skiing create a mesmerizing scene, not only bringing traditional Chinese culture once again into the limelight but also helping turn ice and snow into resources to drive the development of the tourism industry.

Xiaomei glides down the slope, her bright red traditional skirt and cloak creating a vivid contrast with the snow world.

Magical Ice and Snow Kung Fu

Xiaomei, known only by one name, is a millennial skiing enthusiast. Her videos, shot in a national ski resort in Altay Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, show her wearing Hanfu, the traditional attire of the Han Chinese, and a red cloak which billows behind her in the gusty wind. They have attracted a lot of attention online. As she skillfully executes a series of difficult movements when she flies across the snow, her red cloak seems to dance in the wind, providing a dazzling contrast to the white snow, and making her look like a heroic female warrior from the martial arts novels.

“She’s like a flying fairy from fairyland,” commented a viewer. Xiaomei’s skiing skills are highly praised on YouTube, with many calling her performance “magical Chinese ice and snow kung fu.”

For Xiaomei, it started in 2015. At first, she just skied for fun with friends, but gradually, she fell in love with the exhilarating feeling, and spent a lot of time learning and practicing. It was tough at first. “When I was learning to ski, I fell down countless times. Once, I broke my snow goggles in a fall and my eyes remained swollen for several days, which was really frustrating. I even doubted if I had any talent for skiing at all,” she told China Today.

What led to her wearing Hanfu while skiing? “I’ve had a martial arts dream since I was very young, and I’ve always been mesmerized by scenes of people flying with their swords in Chinese T.V. dramas. One day, it dawned on me that I too could ‘fly’ on skis in a gorgeous traditional Chinese long dress, just like they do in the TV dramas.” After a period of trial and error, she was able to do it but her advice to novice skiers is to practice hard before giving it a try.

“Professional equipment is a must for skiers but wearing Hanfu makes it impossible to wear windbreakers or snow goggles. So when the wind hits your face, your eyes will water and your face will feel frozen and you may have injuries. To make my videos as arresting as possible, I don’t wear a helmet, which is very dangerous actually. Novices must be fully equipped and use protective gear,” she said.

Xiaomei shares her experiences on social media platforms such as Douyin, Xiaohongshu (RedNote), and the WeChat video channel. She told China Today a heartwarming story. “One of my subscribers prior to seeing my videos had been suffering from severe depression. But after being inspired by my videos, he became interested in skiing and started learning to ski. Gradually, he embraced nature and told me nature has healed him, and he is very grateful to me. I feel so touched and motivated that my videos can help others.”

Xiaomei has explored many ski resorts across China. “The best wild snow resources are in Altay,” she said. “In February 2019, I volunteered in Altay for two months as a ski guide, during which I fell in love with skiing in the wild. The ski resorts in Altay have a mature operating system and the routes for skiers are prepared professionally. Of course, snow enthusiasts can ski on their own, but for novices, it is not recommended for safety reasons.”

While challenging herself in extreme sports and popularizing skiing, Xiaomei has become an ambassador for ice and snow sports in Altay and is delighted to see more and more people learning about the beautiful natural snowfields in Xinjiang through her videos.

“Now, I live in Altay for a period of time every winter. Xinjiang is a skiing paradise. I hope more people visit it,” she said.

Internet influencer Xiaomei says she wants to tell more people about the joy of skiing so that they too fall in love with ice and snow sports.

A Bourgeoning Tourism Industry

Inspired by her, more and more snow enthusiasts are wearing Hanfu while skiing. They post their skiing videos on social media platforms, forming a new fashion trend. For domestic ski resorts, this trend is helping turn ice and snow into gold and silver.

In order to attract more tourists, the Songhua Lake Ski Resort in Jilin City in northeast China recently launched a series of nighttime ice and snow shows. Members of the local ski club wearing Peking Opera and Sichuan Opera costumes raced down the ski slope, creating a visual feast that blended traditional culture and skiing skills, giving a unique cultural atmosphere to the ski resort.

Ice and snow activities are being launched across the country. Inner Mongolia holds a winter sports festival, the Ice and Snow Naadam, in the city of Hulunbuir City where tourists can experience the Mongolian folk culture. In Beijing, at scenic spots such as Shichahai, Beihai, and the Yuanmingyuan Ruins Park, actors dressed in the uniform of Qing Dynasty soldiers recreate the ancient tradition of dancing on ice. Nanxili, a town in Changchun City in northeast China, is building a snow amusement theme park inspired by the blockbuster video game “Black Myth: Wukong,” using ice and snow to recreate the spectacular mythological scenes in the popular game.

The ice and snow tourism industry has been boosted by the current craze for traditional Chinese cultural elements. According to a recently released research report on the development of China’s ice and snow industry in 2024, the sector is in a stage of rapid development, witnessing an expansion in market size, increasingly diversified consumer demand, a more complete industrial chain, and higher exports of ice and snow equipment. The report estimates that the scale of the industry, around RMB 970 billion in 2024, will cross the RMB one trillion mark in 2025.

It is also witnessing the rise of various models, such as “sports plus public entertainment” and “northbound tourists from central and southern provinces.” The success of “Ice City” Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province in the northeast, which holds the world’s biggest ice and snow sculpture festival annually, has greatly stimulated people’s enthusiasm for ice and snow tourism nationwide, creating more innovative winter tourism experiences, especially attracting a large number of tourists from the warm south to enjoy the fun of ice and snow in the north, significantly increasing ice and snow tourism consumption.

Asian Winter Games 2025

Harbin hosted the 9th Asian Winter Games from February 7 to 14, through which it showcased its unique winter charm to the world. It was the third time that China hosted the Asian Winter Games after the 1996 edition in Harbin and the 2007 edition in Changchun.

Heilongjiang coordinated the preparations for the Asian Winter Games with ice and snow tourism services. Before the event, a 100-day campaign was launched to promote the entire industrial chain of ice and snow sports, culture, equipment, and tourism to create a world-class ice and snow tourism resort and an ice and snow economy highland. Thanks to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and the recent Asian Winter Games, snow has become a fashionable way of life.

Before the Asian Winter Games, Xiaomei also expressed her hope to attract more international friends to pay attention to the event and experience the charm of traditional Chinese clothing. “Dream of Winter, Love among Asia, that’s the slogan of this year’s Asian Winter Games,” Xiaomei said, hoping more international visitors would learn about the charm of skiing as well as the charm of traditional Chinese clothes.