Tourists visit the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Dec. 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)
HARBIN, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Harbin Ice-Snow World, a renowned ice-and-snow theme park in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, welcomed its first batch of visitors this week for the winter season.
Around 250,000 cubic meters of ice and snow have been transformed into appealing landscapes and sculptures. In this ice-and-snow wonderland, visitors can admire various "edifices" made of ice and snow, as well as enjoy fun facilities like the 500-meter-long ice slide. Tourists find themselves reluctant to leave the spectacular 810,000-square-meter kingdom.
Ice and snow have not only created a bustling tourist scene in Heilongjiang, the northernmost province of China, but also business opportunities for various ice-snow-related industries, thus heating the local economy.
"It's my first time seeing snow, and the ice-and-snow landscapes of Harbin are truly spectacular. I enjoyed the view of Harbin's nightscape from the Ferris wheel," said Cai Sijia, a visitor from Guangdong Province in south China.
This aerial photo shows tourists visiting the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Dec. 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)
Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang Province, has abundant ice-and-snow resources, making it a popular destination for winter tourism in China and attracting countless tourists from home and abroad.
"Being in Harbin has been such a cool experience," said American tourist Daniel Robert. "The ice-and-snow architecture here is magnificent. I'm fascinated by the snow sculptures and have taken many pictures."
Even during the night, when temperatures in Harbin dropped below minus 20 degrees Celsius, the outdoor parking lot at Harbin Ice-Snow World remained fully occupied, forcing newcomers to queue for a spot.
In November, a series of snowfalls in Heilongjiang Province triggered a skiing frenzy. Yabuli, a renowned skiing resort in Harbin, has seen a surge in visitors since its official opening on Nov. 9, with hundreds of thousands of tourists hitting the slopes.
Wang Hongxin, director of the Harbin municipal bureau of culture, radio, television and tourism, announced that Harbin would host hundreds of ice-and-snow activities to promote tourism during this winter season.
Yabuli, the skiing resort, has been bent on upgrading its infrastructure and services. "We have introduced more catering providers, and in preparation for the upcoming Asian Winter Games, we will host various events including a national college student skiing competition, a national Alpine skiing competition, and a snowboard park competition," said He Huijie, general manager of Yabuli Sun Mountain Resort.
Apart from tourism, the winter sports equipment manufacturing industry in Heilongjiang Province is also thriving. The production of ice skates, skis and snowboards, among other products, has injected vitality into the local economy.
In the production workshop of Qitaihe Banner Sports Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., workers are busy catching up with incoming orders. "Ice-and-snow sports are becoming increasingly popular, and I have confidence in the future," said Wang Shuai, the company's manager.
In the city of Heihe on the China-Russia border, the cold-region car-testing industry attracts more than 100 automobile companies each winter to conduct cold-resistance tests, thereby boosting local consumption.
"Hotels are hard to book, and the automotive industry has driven the development of the service sector in Heihe," said Wang Yulong, director of the industry and information technology bureau of Heihe.
Data shows that in recent years, the car-testing industry was able to bring service sector in Heihe an income of over 400 million yuan (about 56.33 million U.S. dollars) each winter, including income from the hospitality, catering, retail and transportation sectors.
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