Northeast China's snow and warm hospitality beckons a South African

She called me a "potato," but I didn't mind at all; I accepted the joke from my friend and laughed with her. This is a new nickname in China for people from warm places who enjoy travelling to cold regions to experience the ice and snow.

And yes, as a South African who has mainly lived in the coastal cities of Cape Town and Durban, snow was generally something seen on TV in holiday movies from the northern hemisphere, or dusting the flat top of Table Mountain.

I moved to China at the end of 2022 and have made it a point to see parts of the country beyond Beijing where I live and work. Although Chinese New Year – the biggest cultural holiday in China – is also called Spring Festival, it occurs during a cold time of the year, as early as January 21 or as late as February 20. Since I've been in China, Beijing's downtown area has often had snowfall in winter, sometimes twice in a season, but not enough to satisfy the craving for my winter wonderland. Even in my 30s, the magic that a winter wonderland offers is no less tempting. There were also other reasons why I started seeking out trips to China's northeast provinces, called "Dongbei" in Chinese. Firstly, I really, really like Dongbei floral patterned clothing and I felt it would be both fun and appropriate to wear the garments in their natural environment. Secondly, I have bought into the traditional health concepts of respecting the seasons and not traveling to warm climates during winter. And thirdly, in a bit of a contradiction, I love soaking in hot springs in China and enjoying the spa treatments that come with it, including the rough cloth baths, or "cuo zao." I was told many, many times over that Dongbei is the home of these baths.

"I like your pants," said a waitress one evening to me in a Shenyang restaurant. It was early February 2025, and I was wearing a bright red pair of Dongbei floral pants that I had bought before the trip along with a puffer jacket, gloves and even boots. I felt it would be too much to wear them all at once, so each floral garment had its own day to shine. And the waitress's approval of my fashion choice was just what I needed for validation, instead of the paranoia of worrying about an accusation of cultural appropriation. This is an endearing aspect of the "Becoming Chinese" trend: an invitation to partake in Chinese culture without being told it's not yours to try.

I had arrived a few days earlier by high-speed train, a vital mode of transport during this holiday period as large crowds travel home to be with their families.

When I had left, Beijing was snowless and dry. The train ride gave me an opportunity to see brown landscapes transform into thick, white-padded lands of snow. Shenyang had had good snowfall last year, so I entered a city where I dragged my suitcase on snowy sidewalks. It was just what I wanted to see.

I initially wasn't feeling very well on the trip, so I didn't venture out much for the first few days and missed out on the ice and snow activities.

What I was determined to do was have my moment dipping in piping hot water in an outdoor spring amid a snowy landscape.

"Hello," said a young worker at a hot spring resort on the outskirts of the city. He greeted me in English, evidently surprised to see a foreigner. I was trying to find the outdoor springs, and he was at a desk at the end of a wood-and -glass enclosed walkway that led to several outdoor springs. I was almost there! Almost in the hot water! With my really broken Chinese, I think I said I wanted to "swim outside," instead of, "I want to soak outside," which was confusing to almost all the staff at the resort. Fortunately, the young man understood, indicated the warm tea that was available and walked me outside into the freezing cold. With just my towel, a bathrobe, swimming trunks and slippers, I stepped outside with him where he pointed out the steaming pools set among rocks and, to my joy, snow.

There were other guests in groups already enjoying the water, some of which was around 45 degrees Celsius. The hot bathing water was very welcome, and contrasted perfectly with the sub-zero temperatures above and around the pools. Here, I got my fix for hours: soothing hot water below, chill and beautiful snow above.

As dusk arrived and night drew in, I found myself outside in the warm water of the springs. The sky began to fill with the sights and sounds of fireworks. I made a good choice for that Chinese New Year trip, having the opportunity to catch some of the festivities in another part of this vast country. I had washed away the worries of the previous year; I was relaxed and ready for the year ahead. I sadly did not get the rough cloth bath I was hoping for. Those specialists were not around at the resort at the time.

I haven't had enough of Dongbei yet, and there are still things to do and see: ice sculptures and cuo zao scrubs among them.

As people across China prepare to make trips around the country, I am ready to set off for Changchun soon, the capital of northeast China's Jilin Province. Further north than Shenyang, this Changchun trip forms part of a plan to build resilience to eventually withstand the cold of Harbin for its world-renowned Ice and Snow World.

What awaits in Changchun is, hopefully, a cuo zao scrub and Changchun's very own ice and snow world. The 29th Changchun Ice and Snow Festival promises landscapes hewn from 850,000 cubic meters of snow and ice, as well as sculptures, glittering castles and a half-kilometer ice slide.

So, look out, there may be a Dongbei floral-clad foreigner on the train seat next to you – soon to be zipping down an ice slide and enjoying another serving of Dongbei's warm Chinese New Year hospitality.