HONG KONG, Nov. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 8th, the grand opening ceremony of the Taicang Alps Resort was held, announcing the official opening of this one-stop snow-themed high-end urban resort destination. Located in Taicang, Suzhou, adjacent to Taicangnan Station and Shanghai Jiading District, the resort is only an hour's drive from Shanghai's urban area. It includes six major themed experience areas: Alps Snow Live Ski Resort, Alps Snow Live Ice and Snow Park, Club Med Urban Oasis Taicang Resort, Alps Times, Alps Camp, and Alps Cosmos, creating an international, high-quality, immersive one-stop urban vacation experience.
Guo Guangchang, Chairman of Fosun International, stated: "It is not easy to develop a masterpiece in five years, but like everyone else, we firmly believe that the Chinese people's desire for a better life is always strong, and we believe that the domestic demand for cultural and tourism consumption is robust. We also believe that consumers are willing to pay for high-quality products. As a company, Fosun has the capability and has always insisted on creative innovation. Relying on Fosun's years of global operational capabilities, we are committed to bringing consumers high-quality products with unique experiences, to serve a billion family customers all around the world."
Xu Xiaoliang, Co-CEO of Fosun International and Chairman of Fosun Tourism Group, said: "Taicang's excellent geographical location, rich cultural heritage, and happy and upward urban temperament fit very well with our concept of 'urban vacation'. As an important milestone for Fosun to combine sports with tourism, and for Fosun Tourism Group to implement the introduction and localization of IPs and to build an IP cluster strategy, we hope that the Taicang Alps Resort will bring a 'right here and right now' urban snow vacation experience to consumers in the Yangtze River Delta, and help the high-quality development of the regional cultural tourism economy."
In Partnership with the CDA, Creating an Immersive Indoor Skiing Theme Park
Following Atlantis Sanya, Fosun Tourism Group has built another major leisure and vacation destination, the Taicang Alps Resort, in collaboration with the world-leading ski resort operator, Compagnie des Alpes (CDA). The CDA brings more than 30 years of industry experience in ski resort and theme park development and management and has hosted numerous major international skiing competitions, including the Winter Olympics. Alps Snow World includes two main experience zones: the ski resort and the ice and snow park, with a total construction area of 91,000 square meters. It not only highly restores the Alpine scene in terms of design concept and content experience but also aligns with international standards in quality and professionalism.
The Alps Snow Live Ski Resort is equipped with 5 slopes of varying gradients, the longest reaching 280 meters, 7 magic carpets operating simultaneously, and professional skiing instructors to meet the needs of skiers of different skills and ages. Alps Snow Live Ice and Snow Park offers more than ten immersive snow entertainment activities, including mountain crossing, ice palace adventures, and penguin interactions, allowing even those who do not ski to fully experience the charm of ice and snow. The original performance "Aurora Dream" combines ice dancing and aerial shows to lead guests into the romantic and beautiful dream world of the Alps.
Jean-Marc Farini, President of the Compagnie des Alpes Management, said: "As one of the global leaders in the ski and leisure park industry, we are very excited to collaborate with Fosun to create Alps Snow Live from scratch. For over thirty years, the CDA has been dedicated to combining excellent operations with quality service. It has been our longstanding desire to enter this burgeoning new market in China and share our expertise in Europe's leading mountain skiing and theme parks. We hope the new type of indoor ski resort we have developed will allow everyone to experience an immersive journey through the charm of the Alps and also contribute to the further popularization of skiing in China."
The Second Urban Oasis Sets Sail, Further Cementing Leadership in the Global Ice and Snow Vacation Industry
The Club Med Urban Oasis Taicang Resort is Club Med's first indoor snow resort in China, and it is the brand's second urban resort globally, following the Nanjing Xianlin Resort opened last month. The resort is inspired by a "journey through the snow mountains," ingeniously integrating chalet and snowflake elements. The international buffet restaurant features local specialties from the Alps, and the summit lounge offers a special snow mountain-themed drink list and bar food services. Paired with the attentive service and exciting performances of G.Os (Gentle Organizers), guests can enjoy the leisure and comfort of Après Ski in the Alps.
Henri Giscard d'Estaing, Vice Chairman and Co-CEO of Fosun Tourism Group and Global President of Club Med, stated: "As a global leader in snow vacations, Club Med currently operates over 20 mountain snow resorts worldwide, many of which are located in the Alps, and includes three outdoor ski resorts in Northeast China. It is exciting to bring authentic European snow vacations to China, and we look forward to the Taicang Alps Resort becoming a new fashionable vacation destination in the Yangtze River Delta. In the future, we will continue to leverage our expertise and extensive experience in the snow vacation industry to contribute to the development of China's ice and snow industry."
Joan Valadou, the Consul General of France in Shanghai, said: "Fosun is one of the largest Chinese investors in France and has made positive contributions to promoting Sino-French economic and trade cooperation. The Taicang project brings together the best talents in the snow industries of both countries, including France's CDA and Club Med. Next year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and China, and it is very exciting to see projects like the Taicang Alps Resort opening."
Restoring the Scenery of the Alps, and Supporting the Cause of Artistic Education for Young People
During the opening ceremony, a series of authentic Alpine performances, including the "Seefeld Folk Welcome Show," "Basel Odd Parade," and "Annecy Aerial Art Show," took place in the Alps Times and Alps Camp. These two themed experience areas highly replicate Alpine architecture, villages, forests, rivers, and other cultural and natural landscapes, aggregating themed entertainment, gourmet entertainment, party fashion, business leisure, and other diverse consumption scenes, including several exotic restaurants, frontline ski equipment brand stores, and large-scale art exhibitions.
At the same time, the Alps Cosmos welcomed its first exhibition — the immersive art exhibition themed "Salvador Dali | Paul Cézanne Alps Story." The exhibition includes three major chapters: "Paul Cézanne Four Seasons", "Dreaming Dali," and "AI Dali." Through cutting-edge high-definition scanning technology, CG light and shadow special effects technology, and high-definition projection display technology, coupled with the ice and snow-themed interactive exhibition hall, it brings a multidimensional, immersive, and distinctly different sensory feast compared to traditional art museum exhibitions to the audience.
At the opening ceremony, the Taicang Alps International Resort, in partnership with the Fosun Foundation and the Fosun Foundation Art Center, jointly announced the official launch of the Taicang Youth Art and Aesthetic Education Program. The program will donate 500,000 RMB to the Fosun Foundation to invite a thousand young students from Taicang's primary and secondary schools to visit the Alps Cosmos and to regularly hold art education workshops at the Alps Times, inviting family visitors to experience the charm of art together. In the future, the Taicang Alps Resort will fully leverage its offline scene advantages, advocate and practice the concept of sustainable development, actively support social welfare causes, and strive to enhance social welfare.
