From 13 June 2019, Skiers and Snowboarders will get to visit the world’s 2nd largest ski resort in Guangzhou, China.
Slightly smaller than the one in Harbin, this Guangzhou indoor ski resort is around 3 times bigger than the “Ski Dubai”.
With only 1.5 Hours by car from Hong Kong, Guangzhou would probably the best option for snowsports lovers from South East Asia from April to November.
Basic Information of Guangzhou Indoor Ski Resort (Guangzhou Sunac Snow World)
Location: Huadu district, Guangzhou, China
Size: 75000 sq meter, just slightly smaller than the world’s biggest indoor ski resort in Harbin
Map: Here are the maps of the Guzngzhou Indoor Ski Resort:
Ski slopes: there would be 4 ski slopes in total, suitable for sledding, first timer, beginner to intermediate. (Heard that they open a park there so probably would be fun and great for freestyle lovers). The longest run is their 460 m long beginner run. The steepest slope is 21 degrees.
Opening Hours: Weekday: 10:30 – 20:30, Weekend: 10:30 – 21:30
Ticket Price: Check out the following photos for the ticket price of GZ indoor ski resort:
If you have wechat pay, the best way is contact Guangzhou Indoor Ski School and purchase from them, because they speaks English and they have staff staying at the resort.
If you prefer to pay by credit card, think of ordering from Klook.
Guangzhou Indoor Ski Resort Overview
Guangzhou Sunac Snow World is actually part of the Guangzhou Sunac Wanda Cultural Tourism City. Other than the indoor ski resort, visitors could find Water world, theme park, shopping mall, 5 – 6 stars hotel in the same area.
Take a look at the overall structure of the whole Tourism city:
Yeah… I get that, “for sure they look nice in drawings…” so we took several photos for you during our last trip there!
Snow Quality of the GZ Indoor Ski Resort:
According to my past experience in Harbin Indoor Ski Resort, I would say the snow of this indoor ski resort, would probably be very nice. It’s not powder, but then it’s definitely not icy at all. More like riding on dry spring snow though.
You may want to take a look at this article about Harbin Indoor Ski Resort for a better picture of the Guangzhou Snow World. If you have never been to China before, I would suggest you take a look at this article for some useful tips as well.
for a better picture about the Guangzhou Snow World. If you have never been to China before, I would suggest you to take a look at this article as well.
Transportation to Guangzhou Indoor Ski Resort
There are many ways to reach the Guangzhou Indoor Ski Resort, I will talk about the most popular ways:
Going to the Sunac Snow World from Guangzhou:
From Guangzhou East Railway Station:
To avoid traffic, the best solution would be taking Subway from GZ East station to Huadu Square or Ma’anshan Park stations on line 9, then take a taxi to Sanac Snow World. (Takes around 75 minutes)
From Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport:
Until now, the best way would be taking a taxi to the snow world directly. (Takes around 30 minutes, 16 km)
Going to the Sunac Snow World from Hong Kong:
Best solutions would be:
- Take a Direct Bus from different Hong Kong area to Jollies International Hotel in Huadu, then take 10 mins taxi to the indoor ski resort. (Takes around 3 hours)
- Take High-Speed Train from West Kowloon Station and catch the 07:50 high-speed train from Shenzhen North to Guangzhou North, then take a taxi to the snow world (Total: around 1 hour 45 mins, 70 mins train + 10 mins taxi). Note that there is only 1 train from Shenzhen North to Guangzhou North! Other trains are all going to Guangzhou South and I honestly not recommend that! It takes almost like 1 Hour 30 mins to 2 Hours for you to go from Guangzhou South Station to GZ Sanac Snow World.
- If you don’t mind paying a little more, you can also consider booking a car from Shenzhen-Hong Kong border to the Indoor ski resort directly. (around 1 hr 30 mins to 2 hours from HK-SZ border)
Accommodation near Guangzhou Indoor Ski Resort
There are many accommodation options near the Guangzhou Indoor Ski Resort, from 6 stars hotel to small chained hotels.
Here are some options I’ve discovered:
Closest options (within 5 to 10 mins walking distance):
- Wanda Vista Guangzhou Hotel (6 stars)
- Guangzhou Rongchuang Jingshan Hotel (5 stars)
- Wanda Realm Guangzhou Hotel (5 stars)
- Just opposite to the indoor ski resort there would be some service apartment available for short term rental too
Here are some illustrations of those 3 Wanda Hotels:
I didn’t get a chance to visit these hotels yet, coz they were still building these by 27 April 2019, here are the photos I’ve taken during my stay there:
For those who don’t mind taking around 10 mins taxi to the ski resort for some cheaper accommodation. You may consider staying at these 2 hotels since they are both managed by large international hotel group:
- Crowne Plaza Guangzhou Huadu
- Hampton by Hilton Guangzhou Huadu.
Is English Popular in Guangzhou Indoor Ski Resort?
If you are looking for official English services offered by Sunac group, I would say… Not likely. Actually, most of the instructors working at the official ski school inside the Guangzhou Sunac Snow World are with NO International Recognized Ski or Snowboarding license.
Most of them are coming from the North East area of China (Mainly Harbin) and they hold a China Ski Instructor License, however, what I heard from my snowboarding instructor friends from China that it’s a written test!!!! LoL.
If you are looking for booking a proper English/ Dutch/ Cantonese ski lessons taught by a proper international recognized instructor, your best shot would be Guangzhou Indoor Ski School by Niseko Goodies, a ski school opened by an international snowsports school from Niseko, Japan.
The instructors of Niseko Goodies are Trilingual
- Transportation arrangement
- Snow World, Water World, Theme Park tickets booking
- English, Dutch, Cantonese, Chinese speaking ski/ snowboard school
- Dining arrangement (Restaurant recommendation and booking)
- Massage/ SPA booking
- Sightseeing arrangement
If you want to take the Canadian Ski or Snowboard Instructor Exam (CASI/ CSIA) in China, you can also book via them, one of my friends joined their Level One Snowboarding Instructor precourse and exam by last summer, came back with great comments: “trainer was really professional and experienced, some of them taught several famous celebrities too!”
Conclusion
I would consider the Guangzhou Indoor Ski Resort a really great place for beginners to learn skiing and snowboarding there. Plus now you can find at least one reliable English speaking ski school there!
For those who wish to sharpen their riding or freestyle skills, this is probably your best option from April to November too.
I know some of you may consider this as a waste of energy) but hey, it’s part of the Chinese government policy for supporting the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. So… just enjoy it!
When We Can Go to China without isolation for covid19
if you are hong kong citizen, probably you can start going there from 7 July 2020 onwards