In the post Winter Olympics era, China's ice and snow economy not only did not "cool down", but also took advantage of policy dividends and consumption upgrades to achieve a strategic leap from "cold resources" to "hot economy". Recently, the "Research Report on the Development of China's Ice and Snow Industry (2025)" jointly compiled by Beijing Sport University and other institutions revealed an exciting set of data: it is expected that the total scale of China's ice and snow industry will exceed one trillion yuan by 2025, reaching 1005.3 billion yuan. How will China's ice and snow economy move from scale expansion to high-quality development when the goal of "driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports" is exceeded? How to maintain the "heat" while exploring the "depth" and filling in the "shortcomings", in order to win this trillion dollar gold track? In terms of scale, the total scale of the ice and snow industry will reach 980 billion yuan in 2024, an increase of 263% compared to 2015. It is expected to break through the trillion yuan mark by 2025 and become a trillion yuan pillar track of the national economy. The vitality of the consumer side is highlighted. During the 2023-2024 ice and snow season, the number of ice and snow leisure tourists in China reached 430 million, with a revenue of 524.7 billion yuan. During the 2024-2025 ice and snow season, residents engaged in ice and snow sports, which drove consumption of over 187.5 billion yuan, and ski resort consumption amounted to 78.613 billion yuan. The spillover effect has stimulated the coordinated growth of retail, transportation and other service industries. At the structural level, the "South Expansion and West Expansion" pattern has taken shape. As of April 2025, there are 79 indoor ski resorts (real snow) in China, with 33.9% of the increase concentrated in southern provinces such as Zhejiang and Guangdong. This facility layout that breaks through climate restrictions has enabled residents in southern cities to achieve "localization" and "normalization" of ice and snow consumption. The industrial foundation continues to solidify, and breakthroughs have been made in the "smart" manufacturing of ice and snow equipment, forming a product system of 15 categories. By 2023, there will be 900 related enterprises with sales revenue of 22 billion yuan. The potential of China's ice and snow economy primarily stems from a large and youthful consumer group. The consumer profile of the 2024-2025 ice and snow season shows that the young customer group aged 18-29 has the largest year-on-year increase, reaching 31.80%. This group of consumers, known as the "Generation Z," place greater emphasis on social sharing and trendy experiences. They are redefining the meaning of ice and snow consumption and driving the market towards a more dynamic and creative direction. Secondly, the release of industrial potential also benefits from the innovation of operational models. The previous model of relying solely on winter ticket economy is changing, and major ski resorts are exploring the "four season operation" model. Taking Chongli as an example, by introducing summer projects such as off-road races, music festivals, and camping, the transformation to a full season operation mode has been successfully achieved, greatly improving asset utilization and industry resilience. In addition, technological empowerment provides a new path for tapping into the potential of industries. The "One Ice, One World" immersive AI digital art museum launched by Harbin Ice and Snow World uses AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) technology to create a dreamy virtual space, becoming a typical case of technology empowering cultural tourism. High tech products such as ski suits with intelligent temperature control, wearable devices that can monitor sports data in real time, and VR ski simulators are lowering the threshold for ice and snow sports and expanding the depth and breadth of public participation. Despite significant achievements, there are still some shortcomings in the ice and snow economy that urgently need to be addressed. Firstly, there is an imbalance in regional development, with Beijing, Heilongjiang, and Jilin consistently ranking in the top tier of industries, resulting in significant resource agglomeration effects. However, the lack of venue construction and operation capabilities in the central and western regions may lead to resource misallocation due to the "Matthew effect". Secondly, there is a shortage of talent supply, and the expansion of industries has led to a surge in demand for professional talents. The demand for ski coaching positions will increase by 356% in 2024. Not only is there a large shortage of professional ski instructors, but there is also a shortage of senior management talents familiar with seasonal operations and marketing, which directly affects service quality and safety assurance level. Thirdly, there is insufficient synergy in the industrial chain, weak connection between upstream, midstream, and downstream, and the lack of an efficient closed loop between equipment manufacturing and venue operation, event training, and mass consumption. The core technology of high-end equipment still needs to be further improved. The "Several Opinions on Stimulating the Vitality of Ice and Snow Economy through High Quality Development of Ice and Snow Sports" issued by the General Office of the State Council clearly states that by 2030, the total scale of ice and snow economy should reach 1.5 trillion yuan. To achieve this goal, several key points need to be grasped: deepening the integration of "ice and snow+", promoting the deep integration of ice and snow with cultural, health, education and other industries, developing all age and all season products, and creating characteristic business models such as "ice and snow+folk customs" and "ice and snow+study". Accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation, guided by the "dual carbon" goal, promote advanced technologies such as the "ice ribbon" carbon dioxide ice making at the National Speed Skating Oval, popularize the application of environmentally friendly snow making equipment and renewable energy in the venue, and achieve the coordinated development of ecological and economic benefits. Strengthen the drive of technological innovation, increase investment in research and development of ice and snow equipment, focus on overcoming technical difficulties such as high-end materials and core components, develop more intelligent wearable devices, VR ski simulators and other products, and enhance the technological content and user experience of the industry. Taking the legacy of the Beijing Winter Olympics as a link, we will strengthen the standard docking and technical cooperation with international ice and snow powers, cultivate ice and snow brands with international reputation, and enhance the global competitiveness and influence of China's ice and snow economy. (New Society)