HECTOR RETAMAL AFP
Shanghai opened the world's largest indoor ski resort on Friday, welcoming visitors in snowsuits to its pistes as China reported its hottest August in 60 years.
This year's northern summer saw the highest global temperatures ever recorded, and in the faux Alpine square where the resort's opening ceremony took place, the mercury had already hit 30 degrees Celsius by 9:00 am.
But the temperature plummeted to well below zero inside the cavernous atrium, where visitors switched from sunglasses and T-shirts into padded overalls, some opting for designer goggles or flapping bat-winged helmets.
China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, although in recent years it has also emerged as a global leader in renewable energy.
Climate change has affected traditional outdoor skiing destinations, with ice and snow retreating as world temperatures rise.
Even as the country warms, huge government support and the interest of an expanding middle class have seen the ski industry coast to new heights in China, particularly after Beijing hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The country leads the world when it comes to indoor ski resort building, boasting half of the world's top ten based on snow area, according to Daxue Consulting.
On Friday, the Shanghai L*SNOW Indoor Skiing Theme Resort was officially certified by Guinness World Records as the world's largest, overtaking the previous record-holder, also in China, in northern Harbin.
© Agence France-Presse
