URUMQI, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Over 70,000 primary and secondary school students from the Altay Prefecture, a prestigious ski destination in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, will embrace their first official "snow break," amid the country's efforts to boost its ice-and-snow economy, local authorities said on Tuesday. The students will enjoy a total of nine days off as the extended break encompasses five days of official holiday from Dec. 1 to 5 and the adjacent weekends.