Shenzhen Qianhai Huafa Ice & Snow World Sheds Assets: 7 Commercial Plots Sold for RMB 4.405 Billion

In snowless Shenzhen, the city is building the world’s largest indoor ski resort. Yet a recent land transaction revealed the tough choices this project faces amid the commercial real estate downturn. On the evening of July 28, the Shenzhen Land Reserve Center repurchased seven commercial plots in the Qianhai Convention and Exhibition New City area for RMB 4.405 billion.These plots were originally part of a much grander vision—the Shenzhen Qianhai Huafa Ice & Snow World (hereinafter, “Ice & Snow World”). The RMB 36.7 billion project is a comprehensive ice-themed complex, planned to cover approximately 1.31 million square meters, integrating retail, entertainment, commercial spaces, hotels, municipal facilities, and cultural venues. Now, as Ice & Snow World approaches its planned opening at the end of 2025, the project owner Huafa Co., Ltd. (Zhuhai Huafa Industrial Co., Ltd.) has opted to divest nearly half of its office space, streamlining the project for a “lighter launch.”During its development, Ice & Snow World was once full of fanfare. On November 23, 2020, a consortium formed by Sunac China and Huafa Co. spent RMB 12.71 billion to secure the A301-0575 plot in Bao’an Shajing at base price.

This was Shenzhen’s seventh land transaction exceeding RMB 10 billion. The scale matched the price: the plot spans 436,800 square meters of land, with a total floor area of 1.31 million square meters. Office space dominates at 742,500 square meters, followed by 300,000 square meters of residential, 100,000 square meters of amusement facilities, 99,700 square meters of commercial space, 49,000 square meters of supporting hotels, and roughly 19,500 square meters of public facilities. The plan required the construction of ice-snow facilities and a film-themed hotel. The total investment of RMB 36.7 billion aimed to create a world-class cultural and tourism project combining the largest indoor snow park globally, ice-themed hotels, and themed commercial streets.To manage this colossal project, Sunac and Huafa established Shenzhen Ronghua Land Investment Co., Ltd., holding 51% and 49% stakes, respectively.

Ice & Snow World was significant for both parties. For Sunac, it marked a milestone in entering the Shenzhen market within the Greater Bay Area. Previously, Sunac had developed in Guangzhou, Jiangmen, and Dongguan but struggled to establish a foothold in Shenzhen. For Huafa, the project came at a critical time in 2020 when the company aimed to reach RMB 100 billion in sales, and the plot significantly bolstered Huafa’s land reserves in Shenzhen.However, the project faced unexpected developments. At the beginning of 2023, due to debt relief needs, Sunac sold its 51% stake in Ronghua Land to Huafa for RMB 3.58 billion, leaving Huafa in full control of the Ice & Snow World project, officially renamed “Shenzhen Qianhai Huafa Ice & Snow World.” Currently, the residential portion of Huafa New Town has been completed, and as of July 18, the project’s main “Ice & Snow Center” structure has been topped out and fully lit indoors, with trial operations expected in Q4 2025.

At this stage, controlling the overall project progress is critical. Why divest nearly half of the office space? Returning to the latest transaction, the seven commercial plots repurchased by the government are located in the northwest of the intersection of Zhancheng Road and Shafu Road, Shajing Street, Qianhai Cooperation Zone, east of Jingcong Road, including parts of A301-0600 and A301-0599. Originally valued at RMB 5.841 billion with a total land area of 70,500 square meters and a gross floor area of 461,000 square meters, the plots formed part of the originally planned 740,000-square-meter office cluster, Huafa Plaza. Office space accounted for 419,700 square meters, above-ground commercial 32,900 square meters, underground commercial 3,500 square meters, and public facilities 4,900 square meters. In other words, Huafa has slashed nearly half of the office portion for Ice & Snow World in a single move.According to Huafa’s announcement, all seven plots are currently undeveloped, considered idle “sinking assets.” Comprehensive calculations suggest the transaction could result in a loss exceeding 50% of Huafa’s audited net profit for 2024, yet it will generate RMB 4.405 billion in cash. Beyond financial considerations, the divestment of primarily office-use land was not coincidental.

In the first half of 2025, although Shenzhen’s commercial office market saw reduced new supply temporarily easing vacancy rates, vacancies remained historically high. More critically, data from Cushman & Wakefield indicates that Shenzhen will face an additional 4.2 million square meters of new supply over the next three years. Another report shows that as of Q2 2025, Shenzhen’s total Grade A office stock reached 8.605 million square meters, pushing vacancy rates up 1.2% year-on-year to 27.8%, while average rents fell 5.3% to RMB 160.1 per square meter per month. According to Colliers International, by Q2 2025, total Grade A office stock in Shenzhen was 9.72 million square meters, with a vacancy rate of 27.4% and net effective rents declining 2.6% quarter-on-quarter to RMB 139.4 per square meter per month.For Bao’an District, where Ice & Snow World is located, a JLL report for Q1 2025 shows vacancy rates are slightly higher than Futian District but below citywide averages and those of Luohu and Nanshan districts. Yet rental indexes remain among the lowest submarkets, below 80 since early 2024. Expanding office development further would clearly be unwise given the project’s overall stability.Currently, the seven commercial plots repurchased by the government await a new future. Who will take over them, and whether their purpose will change, remains to be seen.