World's largest ice and snow theme park opens, igniting China's winter tourism fever

HARBIN -- He Rui braved the howling wind to glide down the 521-meter Super Ice Slides at Harbin Ice-Snow World in Northeast China's Harbin city, as this winter's first group of tourists flocked to the world's largest ice and snow theme park on Wednesday for the long-awaited winter entertainment.

The tourist from Southwest China's Guizhou province traveled more than 3,000 kilometers for the magical experience after years of anticipation and was visibly thrilled by the exhilarating fun.

At 10 am, Harbin Ice-Snow World officially opened for the season, unveiling its most spectacular edition yet, featuring landmark attractions, thoughtful services and magnificent ice sculptures across a record 1.2 million square meters of park area.

Like He, many early-bird visitors rushed to the park's iconic attractions and were delighted by the enhanced experiences.

TOP THINGS TO ENJOY

The Super Ice Slides retained its 24-lane layout and extended its longest track to 521 meters, while the 120-meter sky wheel also reopened, giving visitors a bird's-eye view of every winter wonder in the park, according to Guo Hongwei, chairman of the Harbin Ice and Snow World Co Ltd.

At the park's entrance, dance and drum performances, along with cans of "First-day Ice," were specially offered to welcome early visitors. Collected during Harbin's previous ice-cutting festival, the ice symbolizes good fortune in local custom and quickly became a trending topic on Chinese social media.

The main tower, the tallest and largest standalone structure in the park, is shaped like the Chinese character for mountain cradled by snowflakes, symbolizing the country's goal for a thriving ice and snow economy.

This year's ice sculptures showcase a dazzling blend of historical and contemporary marvels from around the globe.

Dazzling replicas of central China's Yellow Crane Tower and Harbin's Chinese Baroque-style buildings stand alongside Belgium's Manneken-Pis, while impressive aircraft carrier and submersible models captivate young visitors.

"The sculptures amazed me with their mix of Eastern and Western artistic styles. I've never seen anything like this, even in other countries, and it's absolutely worth the visit," said Huang Jianlong, a Chinese student studying in Britain who is currently enjoying his winter vacation.

In addition to its sparkling attractions, the park has introduced new performances and activities, including singing competitions, dance battles and fantasy indoor shows, expanding the entertainment offerings, Guo said.

"We are dedicated to offering visitors a grand ice-and-snow carnival with our winter resources and ever-optimizing services," he added.

Apart from the free hot drinks and guided services, Guo said a 5,000-square-meter air-supported dome is now open in the park to offer visitors a warm retreat.

HOT ECONOMIC DRIVER

Harbin, called China's "ice city," has turned its long, cold winters into a major tourist attraction. Last winter, this capital city of Heilongjiang Province welcomed a record 90.36 million visitors, generating 137.22 billion yuan (about 19.44 billion US dollars) in revenue, a 16.6 percent increase year-on-year.

Beyond the Ice-Snow World, Harbin is promoting two other major winter attractions: the 1.5-million-square-meter Sun Island Snow Expo and an Ice and Snow Carnival along the frozen Songhua River, featuring around 260 snow sculptures and 60 ice-and-snow entertainment projects, respectively, according to Wang Hongxin, director of the city's culture, radio, television and tourism department.

In recent years, Harbin Ice-Snow World has emerged as a key driver of economic growth beyond the city itself, Wang said.

Last winter, the park attracted a record-breaking 3.56 million tourist visits during its 68-day operation, boosting the market size of the ice and snow economy in Heilongjiang to reach 266.17 billion yuan, according to the provincial bureau of statistics.

China is positioning the ice and snow economy as a key driver of development and consumption, with its scale expected to reach 1.2 trillion yuan by 2027 and 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030.

The country reiterated the importance of efforts to "expand the supply of high-quality goods and services" at its recent Central Economic Work Conference, and experts are anticipating a more vibrant tourism market this winter.

According to Guo, the park has also streamlined payment services, allowing tourists to use overseas bank cards for ticket purchases and access multilingual guides, enhancing the experience for international visitors.

Authorities in Harbin have also enhanced public facilities and services, including the construction of barrier-free access, upgrades to 26 tourist information centers, and improvements to over 70 restrooms across scenic spots.

China is set to develop high-quality inbound tourism products and routes, build inbound tourism consumption clusters, and continue to launch campaigns to woo international tourists during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), said Sun Yeli, minister of culture and tourism.

As the winter tourism peak arrives, winter destinations across the country have introduced various projects to attract global tourists, including themed travel routes, snow vacations for students and a million-yuan package of ice-and-snow vouchers.