A former quarry in China has been rehabilitated into an indoor snow centre after six years of construction.
Xiangjiang Joy City Snow World was opened in the Chinese province of Hunan in June, covering 150,000m²
Hunan is China’s 10th largest province and has a population of 70 million, with the resort predicting 15 million Chinese visitors annually.
It was designed by Austrian architectural firm Coop Himmelb(l)au and features a 30,000m² indoor snow centre, making it the sixth largest snow centre in the world.
The indoor snow centre was designed by Canadian company CTC Ice & Snow in 2014, which has previously said it is themed on the Alps.
The resort’s ski hall was built within the former quarry, 36m below ground level. It covers 5672m² and features a 1200m² ice lake.
Other attractions at the resort include an indoor mountain covered in snow, a penguin zone and winter village, with the resort having a maximum capacity of 2000 people.
Total costs for the “Joy City” resort is estimated to be 12 billion yuan ($AUD2.4 billion) and reel in 3 billion yuan ($600 million) in profits per year.
China operates four out of the seven largest indoor snow centres across the globe.
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