While the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games is still six years away, it has sparked great enthusiasm among the public for ice sports, which have been boosting tourism and the ice sports industry.

Chongli county in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, co-host of the Winter Olympics, pocketed direct revenue of 1.4 billion yuan ($210 million) from more than 2 million tourists in the 2015-2016 ski season, said Han Zirong, secretary-general of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The growth rate doubled that of the past years, she added. "As a regular visitor to ski resorts in Chongli, I have seen tourists increase sharply," said Qi, a ski fan who wanted only his surname used.