国内英语新闻:Large indoor ski resort to open in southern China

GUANGZHOU, March 16 (Xinhua) -- A 75,000 square-meter indoor ski resort will open in China's warm south on June 15 amid the growing popularity of winter sports.

The ski park, located in Guangdong province's capital Guangzhou, will be three times the size of the famous Ski Dubai and be able to accommodate over 3,000 customers at the same time, said Li Wanxiong, general manager of the project.

Li said the resort was building four ski slopes with different difficulty levels, with the longest one measuring 460 meters. The biggest vertical drop of the slopes will be 66 meters.

Tourists can also enjoy a variety of ice and snow activities, such as ice sculptures and bumper cars on ice, he added.

As the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, China is seeing an explosive growth in winter tourism and sports.

About 197 million visits were made by Chinese travelers for ice and snow activities in the 2017-2018 winter, a year-on-year increase of 16 percent, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Last August, construction started on a 227,000-square-meter indoor ski resort in Shanghai and is expected to open in 2022.