Shanghai's famous landmarks take shape in snow

Shanghai L*SNOW Indoor Skiing Theme Resort in the Pudong New Area, the world's largest indoor ski resort, marked its first anniversary over the weekend with the launch of Shanghai International Ice and Snow Culture Season, providing ski enthusiasts with an immersive experience that combines art, culture, and ice and snow sports.

Ice sculptors from Harbin Ice and Snow World are utilizing 4,000 cubic meters of snow to create sculptures of Shanghai landmarks.

The 400-square-meter display area under construction is the most noticeable feature of Aurora Town.

Under minus five degrees Celsius, sculptors wave shovels and knives as they carve ice and snow images of Shanghai.

Parts of landmarks like the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center have already taken shape.

More Shanghai landmarks, Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day themed landscapes, fairy-tale castles, and European-style bell towers will be unveiled over the next two weeks.

The exhibits will open to the public around September 20.

There will also be exotic ice and snow markets, hairpin-themed skiing shows that incorporate traditional aesthetics, and a variety of participatory activities in addition to the spectacular sculpture art.

Ticket discounts will be available during the anniversary, and visitors with September birthdays will receive a birthday badge as well as avail themselves of discounts at ski schools, hotels and restaurants.

Since its opening, the resort has received over 1 million visits, with a maximum daily passenger flow of 15,000. It has activated Shanghai's ice and snow consumption market, generating an economic benefit of approximately 200 million yuan (US$28 million) and driving up the growth to about 30 percent.

This summer, it recorded about 500,000 visits, and the night passenger flow accounted for 30 percent. The number of foreign visitors in summer hit nearly 10,000, a month-on-month increase of 350 percent.