New World’s Largest Indoor Ski Resort Under Construction
Work is underway on construction of the next world’s largest indoor snow centre near Shanghai, which will also have the longest new indoor slope to be built in more than 20 years.
Work is underway on construction of the next world’s largest indoor snow centre near Shanghai.
The development is Phase 2 of an existing indoor ski centre, Taicang Alps Resort, which is owned by the Fosun group which also owns holiday company Club Med. It is located in Taicang, a city located only 30 miles from central Shanghai.
The new second indoor snow centre at the resort, first announced last year, will be 650-metres long. Although China has built a number of centres that have multiple slopes covering larger indoor snow areas than any others in the world, the longest slopes, at around 620-640 metres, have remained at centres in France and Germany for the past two decades.
Longer slopes planned in the interim at proposed developments in Dubai, Russia and Saudi Arabia either haven't been built or have been scaled back. Several centres with more, wider slopes covering larger areas than the French and German centres have also been built, but not had slopes matching their length. This slope will finally be longer. It will also feature the world’s biggest indoor vertical of 100-metres vertical drop.
The development also includes international hotels, restaurants and will feature a snow-themed observation lounge at the top of the slope from which visitors will also be able to enjoy panoramic views as far as Shanghai landmarks such as the Oriental Pearl Tower.
The Taicang Alps Resort's first phase debuted in November 2023, with six themed zones, including a ski slope, ice parks, and hotels. It has attracted over a million visitors in the first six-months of operations. It is currently the sixth largest in China, a d the world, with a 54,000 square metres indoor snow area and it appears that the new development will take it past 100,000 square metres to become the world’s largest by all three measures (area, length, vertical).
Chinese media reports that this has fuelled tourism growth for Taicang as a whole, creating a 14.1 percent increase in visitor numbers in 2024 compared to the previous year and an 11.7 percent surge in tourism revenue, making this now a more significant part of the city's economy.
The new development is expected to cost CNY5 billion (USD695 million) and open to the public by June 2029.
