Ice, snow tourism heats up in China

China's ice and snow tourism continues to heat up during the 2024-25 winter season, as the country's Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently announced 12 winter tourism-themed travel routes while various regions, ski resorts and snow parks have rolled out a series of measures to promote winter tourism.

Harbin, capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has promoted the upgrading of ice and snow tourism.

The Harbin Ice-Snow World, an iconic winter attraction in Harbin, attracted nearly 640,000 tourist visits from its opening on Dec. 11 to Dec. 31, 2024, according to statistics.

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 5, 2025 shows visitors having fun at the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)

Themed "Dream of Winter, Love among Asia," the ice-and-snow theme park incorporates elements inspired by the upcoming 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games.

The main tower stands out as the park's centerpiece. As the tallest structure in the park, the main tower features towering ice columns that depict the official emblem of the Olympic Council of Asia.

The park spans an impressive 1 million square meters and uses 300,000 cubic meters of ice and snow, setting a historical record. Technology plays an essential role in completing such a massive project with efficiency and high quality.

In April 2024, Harbin Ice and Snow World Park Co., Ltd. partnered with the Harbin Institute of Technology on a provincial sci-tech project to develop intelligent equipment for making ice blocks.

"Unlike previous construction that mainly relied on manual labor, our equipment developed over more than six months incorporates multi-sensor data fusion and artificial intelligence visual recognition technologies," said Professor Ren Bingyin, project leader from the School of Mechatronics Engineering at the Harbin Institute of Technology.

Ren added that the equipment, featuring automation control, achieves intelligent control of the production process of standard ice blocks.

The park of the Harbin Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo is another iconic winter attraction in Harbin. A giant snowman created by Zhang Ningge, a snow sculpture artist, welcomes crowds of visitors during the ongoing 37th Harbin Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo.

Since the arrival of winter, tourists from various regions have been flocking to Harbin. Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 21, 2024, Harbin Taiping International Airport handled around 1.43 million passengers, up 13.9 percent year on year, with tourists accounting for about 60 percent.

"We will continue to see that the tourist market operates in line with regulations, address tourists' concerns promptly, and provide thoughtful services," said Wang Hongxin, director of Harbin's Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism.

Jilin city in northeast China's Jilin Province has integrated fine traditional Chinese culture with winter sports.

As night fell at Vanke Songhua Lake Resort, a national-level ski resort in Fengman district of Jilin city, the sound of gongs and drums filled the air. 20 ski enthusiasts, dressed in traditional Chinese opera costumes and cloaks, sped down the slope against a backdrop of colorful lights and fireworks.

Nearly 100 spectators gathered near the slope, taking photos and applauding the lively scene. "It's interesting to see an 'opera performance' on the ski slope!" said Zhang Weining, a ski enthusiast from east China's Jiangsu Province. As he spoke, the performers suddenly maneuvered their skis to create a half-meter-high "snow wall," drawing cheers from the interactive crowd.

Jilin city is known for its Peking Opera tradition, having cultivated many famous Peking Opera performers over the years. On Nov. 30, 2024, the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Jilin Municipal Committee and Fengman district launched a series of ice and snow activities aiming to integrate fine traditional Chinese culture with winter sports.

Several ski resorts have organized skiing performances themed on Peking Opera plays based on the popular novel "Tracks in the Snowy Forest" by Qu Bo, traditional opera costumes, ethnic costumes, etc. Meanwhile, local opera troupes, performers from the city's Peking Opera heritage protection center, and opera enthusiasts have been invited to present opera shows and ethnic dances.

"We will continue to combine fine Chinese traditional culture with winter sports through various approaches and promote the development of a complete ice and snow industrial chain covering sports, tourism, equipment, culture and other sectors," said Li Du, deputy director of the management committee of the city's pilot zone for high-quality development of ice and snow economy.