China-Austria winter carnival kicks off in Shanxi

Friedrich Alois Lienz, a former Austrian national team skier, visited China for the first time and taught skiing techniques to local primary school students during the event. He remarked that such activities greatly enhance friendly exchanges between China and Austria.

The two-month carnival features six winter tourism routes tailored to Lingchuan's seasonal highlights, the distribution of local scenic spots, and market demand for tourism products.

"The ice-and-snow economy represents a new growth driver for Lingchuan's high-quality development, and cooperation with Carinthia serves as a vital link in our opening-up strategy," said Wang Li, head of the county. She added that the county will leverage the carnival as a starting point to amplify its advantages in winter resources and promote the internationalization, branding, and integrated development of its ice-and-snow economy.

The county is planning to launch a voucher program totaling 5 million yuan ($716,000) to boost winter tourism. It will gather local delicacies and organize public skiing competitions, primary and secondary school skiing contests, and winter camps, all designed to fuel winter cultural and tourism consumption.

Sun Shuyue contributed to this story.