At the foot of the Beidahu Ski Resort in Yongji County, Jilin City, Jilin Province, signs for ski shops and B&Bs appeared one after another along the street, and vehicles carrying ski equipment passed by from time to time. The opening of the 33rd Universiade Winter Games in Changchun 2027 (hereinafter referred to as the "Changchun Winter Games") is getting closer and closer. Yongji County relies on this international comprehensive winter games to speed up its quality improvement and quietly renew itself.
Beidahu Ski Resort is located in the golden latitude of skiing. It is one of the world's three major powder snow bases along with the European Alps and the North American Rocky Mountains. It is one of the snow event venues of the Changchun Winter Games.
For a long time, Yongji County has been mostly just a transit point for Chinese and foreign snow enthusiasts, and their stay there is very short. "The Great Winter Games landed in Jilin, opening up the linkage between the mountain competition venues and the counties below the mountains. The events are on the mountains, and the reception, services, and folk experiences extend to the mountains." Chang Miao, deputy director of the Propaganda Department of the Yongji County Party Committee, said that the place is becoming a window to showcase Jilin's ice and snow features to the world.
Beidahu Town in Yongji County, not far from the ski resort, is the first stop for the benefits of ice and snow to reach the countryside. The town has more than 150 B&Bs and restaurants, more than 800 guest rooms, and can accommodate more than 3,000 people at the same time.
Walking along Jihua Road in Kouqian Town, where the county government is located, new street lights are neatly arranged, shop fronts along the street are neatly renovated, and bilingual guide signs on the street corners are clear and eye-catching. Liu Guifen, the owner of a specialty shop, takes a break from her busy schedule to practice simple English on her mobile phone.
Agricultural products such as fungus, wild vegetables, and ginseng at the counter are all labeled with bilingual labels, and translation manuals and foreign-related emergency contact cards are on hand. "Athletes from all over the world are coming, and we have to be ready to welcome them." Liu Guifen said that she hopes that overseas guests can taste the products of the black soil after skiing.
Behind the spontaneous preparations by merchants is the simultaneous advancement of foreign-related service quality improvements across the county. The local government has carried out foreign-related reception training for merchants, bus drivers, and supermarket employees; the transportation department has prepared enough snow melting supplies and overhauled snow removal equipment to ensure stable traffic from the county to the competition area; the landscape improvement and village renovation projects along the route have also been launched, with 2,200 new spruce trees planted; the libraries and riverside parks have updated their signs, added hot water points, and barrier-free facilities. "Many restaurants have optimized their menus, retaining Northeastern characteristics such as iron pot stew and sticky bean buns, while adding simple meals that suit the tastes of many countries," Chang Miao said.
In addition to hardware upgrades and service standards improvement, Yongji continues to lengthen the ice and snow industry chain. The local area has created a "ski resort-county-countryside" cultural tourism route, connecting the Beidahu ski resort, county cultural museums, and food streets, guiding overseas participants to go out of the competition venue and immerse themselves in the rime forest and Guandong folk customs.
Chang Miao said that the local area will accumulate event traffic into the foundation for the long-term development of the county's ice and snow industry.
At the county volunteer service station, "post-00s" volunteer Wang Haozheng and his companions repeatedly rehearsed the foreign-related guidance process. As a member of the bilingual service team, he knows the ski resort routes, county attractions and local customs by heart. "The Changchun Winter Games is an ice and snow event for young people around the world, and we are the interpreters of our hometown." Wang Hao said that he wants to tell the ice and snow story of this small town to guests from all over the world.
