Rime on tree branches
In the depth of winter, cold waves surge southward, bringing sustained low temperatures to Huaihua. The Xuefeng Mountains, stretching from north to south, are gradually clad in silver. Rime clings to the branches, and ice bedecks the twigs, forming a series of natural scrolls of ice and snow. Scenic spots including Chuanyan Mountain in Xupu County, Xuefeng Mountain in Hongjiang City and Xihuang Mountain in Zhijiang County have successively ushered in the first large-scale snowfall and rime spectacle of the winter, jointly depicting a magnificent picture of a “silver-clad ice and snow world” and emerging as a rare natural wonder.
The area around the Xuefeng Mountain Cableway in Xupu County has been transformed into an ice and snow corridor following the snowfall. As the world’s longest alpine cableway, the 7,600-meter-long cableway straddles the lofty mountains and ridges, connecting core scenic areas such as Chuanyan Mountain, Shanbei Huayao Terraces and Huxing Mountain in Longhui County, thus forming a “cloud-top scenic belt” running through the Xuefeng Mountains.
After the snowfall, the mountains and forests along the cableway are entirely covered in snow. With glittering rime and surging sea of clouds, tourists taking the cableway can, within 30 minutes, overlook the breathtaking scenery of ice-sheathed treetops and snow-blanketed terraces among the overlapping mountain ranges. Especially when the morning sunlight shines, the ice reflects brilliant light, making visitors feel as if they have stepped into a glazed wonderland.
The operation of the cableway has not only greatly improved accessibility, but also connected the originally scattered cultural and tourism resources into a coherent line. It has developed a composite tourist destination centered on ice-snow sightseeing, integrating terrace culture, Huayao ethnic customs and the history of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, effectively boosting rural revitalization and the quality improvement of culture-tourism integration.
During the ongoing “Cloud-top Ice and Snow Season” campaign, supporting programs such as ice-snow photography and folk custom experiences have been launched in the scenic areas, further enriching the cultural connotation and immersive experience of ice and snow tourism in southern China.
Meanwhile, the Xuefeng Mountain area in Hongjiang City has also welcomed its first large-scale rime spectacle of the winter. The interweaving of sustained low temperatures and abundant water vapor has created a vast landscape of ice-covered trees and jade-like flowers on the higher-altitude parts of the mountain.
Picturesque Xuefeng Mountain in Hongjiang City
Pine needles and branches are completely encased in transparent ice shells, forming an ice sculpture forest with diverse shapes. When a gentle breeze blows, the entire forest glistens with silver light, like scattered diamonds across the land. Mist shrouds the mountains, sometimes curling around the hillsides like thin silk, and sometimes surging into a sea of clouds, lifting the rolling mountain ranges above the clouds.
Shu Hang, a tourist visiting with his family, praised the scene, saying, “It is such a spectacular sight that it is well worth seeing every year.”
In Xihuang Mountain of Zhijiang County, a rare spectacle of wind-driven rime and sea of clouds has also unfolded. With an altitude of 1,405 meters, the Golden Summit, the main peak, is the highest point in Zhijiang. Its high elevation and sound ecological environment provide ideal conditions for rime formation.
The combination of low temperatures, strong winds and ample moisture has created unique ice crystal structures on the windward side of the trees. The branches, covered in ice, look like silver dragons dancing in varied postures. The sea of clouds surges and undulates in the valleys, setting off the tranquil rime forest and forming a natural scroll that blends dynamic and static beauty.
Ms. Li, a tourist from Guizhou Province, exclaimed in amazement, “It feels like walking into an ice and snow fairyland. The view is absolutely stunning.” As a regional ecological tourist resort, Xihuang Mountain is taking ice-snow landscapes as a breakthrough to create a distinctive tourism brand, attracting a continuous stream of tourists from inside and outside of Hunan Province.
Snow-covered Xihuang Mountain in Zhijiang County
With cold waves as its brush and ice and snow as its ink, this natural scenery is not only a display of climatic phenomena, but also a vivid epitome of Huaihua’s efforts to promote the integrated development of the ice and snow tourism industry. In recent years, relying on the ecological and cultural resources of the Xuefeng Mountains, Huaihua has accelerated infrastructure construction, innovated the supply of tourism products, and promoted the transformation of the ice-snow economy from seasonal sightseeing season to a sustainable industry.
Ice and snow are no longer just a symbol of coldness, but have become a “cold resource” that activates rural economies, disseminates regional culture and promotes the transformation of ecological value. With the continuous operation of major cultural and tourism projects such as the Xuefeng Mountain Cableway, and the continuous emergence of new business forms such as ice and snow plus folk customs and ice and snow plus health preservation, Huaihua’s ice and snow world, in its silver-clad glamour, is striding toward a new stage of high-quality development.
(Translated by Yang Hong)