Snow brings smiles to the chilly north

Steve Biko Okong'o took a shortcut to walk quickly to the dinning hall in Shenyang's China Medical University with his hands in the pockets of his dark brown leather jacket on Sunday. It was -28 C and the whole city was coated with snow and ice.

The 23-year-old junior, a beneficiary of the Sino-Kenya educational cooperation project, has studied clinical medicine in China for three years and is becoming accustomed to the freezing winter in Northeast China.

"Everything is fine if the central heating is good and I can finish my course as scheduled. In fact, I can even find fun in this," said the young man with the big smile while blowing on his hands to keep warm.

Northeast China appears rather calm and even joyful in the face of the ongoing cold front.

Okong'o's classmate, Wang Hao from Baishan city in Jilin province, said he will return home after his exams and help his parents with the family business. His family operates a restaurant at the foot of Changbai Mountain, the highest point in Northeast China and one of the most popular tourism destinations in the country.

"It snowed so heavily this year the ski resorts didn't need artificial snow at all, this may lower the price and attract more visitors," he said.

Feng Chunmiao, a public relations manager from Shangri-la Hotel in Changchun, capital of Jilin, said more tourists are flocking to the north to ski. The luxury hotel has a resort compound on Changbai Mountain, which provides top-level food and accommodation, sightseeing, skiing and even a spa service.

"The -30 C temperatures can keep all people at home, but we did see a rising inflow of customers in the past month," Feng said.

With tourists flocking to cold spots, locals are choosing to go south for the holidays. There is a trend among seniors in the region to immigrate to the south to avoid the winter, and fly back north for the summer.

Wang Huan, a tourism veteran from Shenyang Overseas International Travel Service, said the current season was the golden time for the industry in the region.

"Local people fly to the south or even go abroad for vacation. At the same time, people from the south come here to enjoy the snow and ice. It is a key time for us," Wang said.

As for the agriculture, local farmers appear rather optimistic about the coming year because the frequent snowfall will kill most insects and ensure abundant water for the crops next spring.

Okong'o said he was planning to travel after the final exam next month and go skiing. "I really enjoy the feeling of flying over the snow," he said. "Only the very rich in my hometown can ski in some shopping mall."