World’s Largest Indoor Ski Resort Opens in Shanghai 

AFP/APP

Shanghai: Shanghai opened the world’s largest indoor ski resort on Friday, welcoming visitors to its artificial pistes as China experienced its hottest August in 60 years.

This summer saw the highest global temperatures on record, and by 9:00 am local time, the temperature in the faux-Alpine square hosting the opening ceremony had already reached 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).

Inside the massive atrium, however, temperatures dropped well below freezing, with visitors swapping sunglasses and T-shirts for snowsuits, padded overalls, and designer goggles. Some even donned bat-winged helmets.

Snowboarder Jessica Zhang, standing at the top of a slope, was unfazed by the August heat record. “When it comes to climate, I feel like you get ups and downs in temperature — maybe every few years, a hottest year comes along,” she remarked.

This year is on track to be the hottest ever recorded, likely surpassing the previous record set in 2023, according to the EU’s climate monitor. Climate change has significantly impacted traditional outdoor skiing destinations, with shrinking ice and snow as global temperatures rise.

China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has also become a leader in renewable energy. Despite the country warming, the ski industry has continued to grow, especially after Beijing hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics, with strong government support and a growing middle class driving demand.

China now leads the world in indoor ski resort development, with half of the world’s top ten indoor resorts by snow area, according to Daxue Consulting.

On Friday, the Shanghai L*SNOW Indoor Skiing Theme Resort was officially certified by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest indoor ski resort in the world, surpassing the previous record-holder in Harbin, northern China.

Modeled after a glacier, the 90,000-square-meter snow world towers over Lingan, about 1.5 hours from Shanghai’s city center. An August Shanghai government report acknowledged that such projects “inevitably consume a lot of energy” but highlighted energy reuse features such as ice storage, waste heat recovery systems, and extensive rooftop photovoltaics.

Although the resort’s completion was delayed several times, with its original opening planned for 2019, its soft opening has not been without issues. The resort recently announced plans to implement additional safety measures after an incident in which a guest reportedly severed a finger, state media reported Wednesday.