Economic Watch: Transforming winter chill into economic heat in north China's Inner Mongolia

HOHHOT, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- When life retreats from the bitter cold, the frozen lake in Yakeshi, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, comes back to life with the revving of engines, morphing into a vast test track where the world's carmakers confront nature's most extreme conditions.

The giant slab of ice covering the lake in the Miandu River National Wetland Park of Yakeshi, in Hulun Buir City, has become a robust winter automotive testing ground -- China's largest, attracting more than 60,000 engineers from around the world each year to test vehicle performance in extreme cold.

In a region where winter lasts six months and temperatures can plunge below minus 40 degrees Celsius, a quiet transformation is unfolding -- one aimed at turning the winter chill into economic opportunity.

The transformation originated from an innovative idea: during the frozen months when wild birds in the lake migrate south, could the over 300-hectare ice surface be leased to automakers for testing?

The concept came to fruition in 2006, when Bosch began testing at the site. In 2024 alone, the site hosted 2,676 vehicle tests and 66,000 visits from engineers. The testing business generated 179 million yuan (about 25.47 million U.S. dollars) in revenue and created over 2,000 jobs that year, enabling Yakeshi to capture 40 percent of China's winter vehicle testing market.

"Our strengths are found in the extreme cold, stable climate, and a balance with ecological protection," explained Han Tiefeng, deputy director of the Yakeshi high-tech industrial development service center.

The business model aims to achieve both economic and environmental benefits. In summer, the wetland remains a habitat for migratory birds; in winter, the frozen lake becomes a testing lab. All revenue from ice-surface licensing is reinvested into wetland infrastructure and ecological restoration, creating a virtuous cycle of "using ice to nourish green, and green to sustain ice."

Furthermore, the testing zone occupies only 5.28 percent of the park's total area, with all corporate facilities located outside the wetland protection boundary, according to the administration of the wetland park.

The automotive testing industry has also spurred growth in lodging, dining, and the sales of local agricultural products. Over the past decade, tourist visits to Yakeshi have grown by more than 65 percent, with tourism revenue up by more than 46 percent.

The automotive testing industry represents a successful attempt to tap winter resources to boost economic vitality in the industrial sector, and the ongoing Inner Mongolia Ice & Snow Festival, held across Hulun Buir City, highlights the extension of such initiatives to the consumer end.

Launched on Dec. 21, 2025, the festival blends professional racing with public ice and snow tourism, offering racers a distinct experience at each track, including winding along a curved river, traversing snow-covered plains and forests, and confronting the extreme cold of minus 40 degrees Celsius.

The "games plus tourism" model is boosting Hulun Buir's winter tourism market, benefiting transportation, hospitality, dining, and other service industries.

The event kicked off with an opening ceremony, followed by three races held in three sub-regions of Hulun Buir. Its Ergun leg will welcome hundreds of winter sports enthusiasts and 400 competing vehicles, according to available statistics.

Across Inner Mongolia, a wide array of ice and snow tourist experiences are lighting up the region's frigid winter, ranging from Genhe's reindeer-tribe experiences, Alxa League's desert snowscape, Ulanqab's volcanic ice and snow, to the border city of Manzhouli's international ice and snow festival.

Between November 2024 and January 2025, the region's 13 ice and snow theme parks generated over 29.79 million yuan in ticket sales, up by 25.76 percent year on year.

"Inner Mongolia is tapping into its cultural distinctiveness to energize tourism, using diverse travel products to activate 'cold resources' and sustain the heat of the ice and snow industry," said Ji Xiaoqing, director of the regional cultural and tourism department. ■