Winter tourism heats up as weather cools

Winter winds have swept through the northern reaches of China, but tourists' enthusiasm for travel to the country's coldest places is heating up.

According to data released by Chinese online travel agency Ctrip on Tuesday, internet searches for ice — and snow-related activities continue to rise. Harbin, Heilongjiang province — famous as the nation's ice box — topped the search engines at No 1 for winter tours.

The ever-popular Harbin Ice-Snow World began its annual frozen construction process on Nov 27. The park, which combines ice, snow, sound and lights, will be expanded from 810,000 square meters to 1 million sq m when it welcomes its 26th consecutive year in mid-December.

"The park's design and construction will fully integrate elements of the 9th Asian Winter Games — set to open in Harbin in February — creating a more dazzling ice and snow theme park this winter," Luo Xin, deputy general manager of Harbin Ice-Snow World Co, said at a news conference on Tuesday.

A series of activities, including an ice harvesting festival, a new fantasy show, outdoor performances, ice carving competitions and other ice and snow events will be held during the winter, Luo said.

Artificial snowmaking has already begun for the 37th Harbin Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo, marking the start of construction. Within an area of 1.5 million sq m, more than 260 snow sculptures will be created for competitive and artistic purposes.

"We have planned a series of innovative snow-related events in addition to the traditional snow carving competitions," said Jiang Fei, deputy general manager of Harbin Sun Island Property Management Co. "For example, a unique event — the parent-child snow carving activity — aims to enhance family cohesion."

The National Development and Reform Commission issued a plan on Thursday to promote high-quality development of the snow and ice economy in Northeast China to help with revitalization.

The plan would encourage cooperation between the northeastern and eastern regions and actively seek tourists from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to enjoy the ice and snow.

Efforts will also be made to attract foreign tourists by boosting the 72-hour visa-free transit policy in Harbin to 144 hours.

Since the ski season opened on Nov 23 at Beidahu Ski Resort in Jilin city, Jilin province, all 75 ski resorts of various sizes in the province have begun winter operations.

Lake Songhua Resort in Jilin city is not only bustling during the day but also increasingly popular for night skiing. It is attracting more young people and office workers to participate.

Trails total 10 kilometers, with a maximum drop of 605 meters. The resort can accommodate up to 3,000 skiers at a time.

So far, pre-opening revenue for the snow season reached 80 million yuan ($11 million), a 47 percent increase over the same period last year.

In the warmer southern zones of the country, such as Guangzhou, Guangdong province, Chengdu, Sichuan province, and Jing'an, Jiangxi province, indoor ice and snow venues are attracting lots of visitors, especially young people, a report on China Central Television said.

In recent years, Guizhou province has actively seized the opportunity to develop ice and snow sports.

Yushe Snow Mountain Ski Resort in Liupanshui — the lowest latitude ski resort in the country and the first alpine ski resort in Guizhou — now has a primary ski track, an intermediate track and one advanced track.

Tourists can also experience various interesting skiing items, such as double boards, snowboards, snowmobiles, snow boats and a cable car.

"During the 2023-24 snow and ice season, the number of people participating exceeded 400 million," Dai Bin, director of the China Tourism Academy, told CCTV. "I believe it will also set a record this winter."