Four slopes, 35 hectares: in the middle of a heat wave, China has opened the world's largest indoor ski resort

Skiing enthusiasts have the choice between four indoor ski slopes. – DR

With an area of ​​nearly 35 hectares, the L* Snow World Indoor Skiing Theme Resort in Shanghai offers four different slopes, with cable cars and chairlifts, as well as a shopping center, restaurants and hotels. The Chinese are fond of these facilities even if they are very energy-intensive.

Skiing in summer, even when the thermometer exceeds 30 °C… The ineptitude did not bother the Chinese who inaugurated near Shanghai, at the end of August, at a time when temperatures were breaking all records in the country, an indoor ski center. This one was even certified by the Guinness Book as the largest in the world. It dethrones the "station" of Harbin, located… in China.

Since the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the Chinese have been loving this type of facility. There are about fifty of them throughout the country. But this one is of pharaonic dimensions. Installed in a glacier-shaped complex with an area of ​​nearly 35 hectares, the largest artificial ski resort has four slopes with cable cars and chairlifts. According to the Reporterre website, which relays figures from the Mountain Wilderness association, machines operate continuously to keep the temperature below 0 °C and the use of artificial snow requires an average of 4,000 m3 of water per hectare to supply the snow cannons.

A rooftop pool in 2025

On the day of the inauguration, the temperature outside reached 34°C. This did not prevent the many skiers from rushing in down jackets to test the snowy slopes. They also discovered a vast complex composed of restaurants, hotels and a shopping center. In 2025, the roof will house a vast aquatic leisure complex.

The Chinese government has defended an ecologically virtuous project, designed to reuse energy, thanks in particular to ice storage and a system for recovering lost heat, as well as vast photovoltaic installations on the building's roofs. However, China still remains the leading greenhouse gas emitter, announcing a peak in 2030.