

Harbin Ice and Snow World (Photo/Xinhua)
As China prepares to celebrate the Chinese New Year, its northernmost province Heilongjiang is seeing a boom in winter tourism.
The 36th Harbin Ice and Snow Festival kicked off in Harbin, Heilongjiang on Jan. 5, marking the start to over 100 ice and snow activities in the next three to four months. Winter tourism is turning snow into "gold" and making big fortunes for this traditional industrial base.
Harbin Ice and Snow World, a popular winter attraction in the city, received over 7,000 visitors on the same day when the 36th Harbin Ice and Snow Festival kicked off, the highest in the last decade, explained Liu Mingyu, president of the company that runs the theme park which covers a total area of 600,000 square meters with 220,000 cubic meters of snow and ice.
"The snow and ice festival has made Heilongjiang more popular," Liu said.
Temperatures in Huzhong district of Heilongjiang's Daxing'anling have dropped to as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius in recent days, and many visitors have already made plans to spend the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday there to experience this icy world.
Statistics released by the tourism department of Heilongjiang indicated that the province saw growth in both the number of incoming visitors and tourism revenue last winter, and tourists from other provinces, who accounted for 34 percent of the total, contributed over 60 percent to the revenue.
"Winter tourism has not only enriched the product line, but also integrated tourism resources that were scattered across the province," said Zhao Ruizheng, a researcher with the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.
The development of tourism is a partial result of enhanced infrastructure construction in the province. After one year of operation, the Harbin-Mudanjiang High-speed Railway has linked 11 tourist sites, and Heilongjiang has expanded its total length of express ways to 4,512 kilometers.
Harbin Taiping International Airport handled nearly 20.8 million passengers in 2019, ranking first among the four major airports in Northeast China for four consecutive years.
Booming winter tourism is also creating a large number of jobs. During the construction of the sites for the Harbin Ice and Snow World, ice garden parties and ice sculpture festivals, nearly 1,000 people were working at these sites each day.
Fire brigade in Shanghai holds group wedding
Tourists enjoy ice sculptures in Datan Town, north China
Sunset scenery of Dayan Pagoda in Xi'an
Tourists have fun at scenic spot in Nanlong Town, NW China
Harbin attracts tourists by making best use of ice in winter
In pics: FIS Alpine Ski Women's World Cup Slalom
Black-necked cranes rest at reservoir in Lhunzhub County, Lhasa
China's FAST telescope will be available to foreign scientists in April
"She power" plays indispensable role in poverty alleviation
Top 10 world news events of People's Daily in 2020
Top 10 China news events of People's Daily in 2020
Top 10 media buzzwords of 2020
Year-ender:10 major tourism stories of 2020
No interference in Venezuelan issues
Biz prepares for trade spat
Broadcasting Continent
Australia wins Chinese CEOs as US loses