Harbin, an "Ice City" with a Warm Heart丨“尔滨，你让我感到陌生”

Southern People’s Holiday in Northeast China

How do you tell the southerns apart from northerners? 

Northeastern Chinese people can be summarized in 4 elements: a light-colored down jacket, a lovely small hat, a suitcase in hand and shyness in public bath house.

Southerns are less prepared for the cold, but the northerners are doting on them to make their winter trip memorable. 

Some individuals online are providing practical suggestions for the outfits of these southerners, emphasizing the need for clothing that protects them from the freezing outdoor temperatures while ensuring they don't sweat profusely indoors.

Some people even did Harbin tourism strategy, took the initiative to write down Harbin play precautions. One of them is especially important for people in the South: Don't lick ice lanterns.

Harbin Sees Tourism Boom During New Year Holiday

Harbin welcomed nearly 3.05 million visitors, raking in 5.91 billion yuan (US$832.39 million) of tourism revenue, during the three-day New Year holiday, which ended Monday.

Both the number of tourists and the amount of tourism revenue surpassed the figures for 2019, marking a historical peak.

Data from the city's commerce department shows a significant growth of 129.4 percent in the accommodation and catering sectors during the period.

Wang Hongxin, an official from the city's tourism department, attributed this surge in tourism to Harbin's increasing popularity on social media platforms which transforms the city into a bustling holiday destination.

In order to facilitate travel for tourists, Harbin has extended the operating hours of buses and subways.

According to the announcement from the Harbin government, the ice and snow season in Harbin will continue until the end of March 2024. For travelers aiming to avoid peak periods, it's advisable to plan visits after New Year's Day and the Spring Festival, when tourist traffic is at its peak.

To attract more tourists and improve overall services, Harbin has rolled out an array of activities, including live performances on New Year's Eve, firework displays, theme parks, intangible heritage culture shows and concerts. A series of measures have also been introduced to enhance the visitor experience in Harbin, covering sectors such as dining, accommodation, travel, shopping and entertainment.

As the "City of Music," symphony concerts moves into the mall.

Tourists want to take pictures of the snow with the moon, and Harbin has raised a round artificial moon over the Saint Sophia Cathedral. The ultimate romantic dream, as if reflected into reality.

A "warm station" was built in the square to provide a warm place to rest.

The Oroqen people were invited to the Central Street to perform reindeer……

Only you can't imagine, nothing Harbin can't do…… All this cannot help but let Harbin citizens and netizens sigh: are you still that Harbin?

As an increasing number of travelers show greater enthusiasm for winter tourism, Harbin's ice and snow economy is booming.

With the opening of various ice and snow-themed parks, the city has become popular among tourists.

The latest enhancement to the Harbin Ice-Snow World features an expansion from 8 to 14 ice slides, with the longest slide measuring an impressive 521 meters. The upgraded attraction has drawn tourists from various regions, eager to indulge in the winter wonderland experience.

In January 2023, the China Tourism Academy issued a report on the development of Harbin's ice and snow tourism. It said that with a high concentration of ice and snow resources in China, Harbin has gone through the primary stage of serving human transportation through ice and snow, and entered the advanced stage of using ice and snow resources to drive urban development.

In May 2022, Harbin launched a development plan for its ice and snow economy. According to the plan, by 2025, total output value of the city's ice and snow industry should reach 75 billion yuan ($10.5 billion), taking up over a quarter of the province's total in the sector. By 2030, that should take up over a third of the province's total and surpass 150 billion yuan.

Huang Dawei, deputy head of the bureau of culture, broadcasting, TV and tourism of Harbin, said, "Through coordinating the development of four key ice and snow industry clusters — ice and snow sports, ice and snow culture, ice and snow equipment, and ice and snow tourism — Harbin was successfully granted the right to host the 9th Asian Winter Games 2025."

Hong Yong, an associate research fellow at the e-commerce research institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said: "Harbin's ice and snow economy is on the rise, bringing real benefits to the local merchants. To promote the long-term development of the industry, it is suggested that the government offer more favorable policies, such as helping lower merchants' winter operating costs, and providing marketing platforms. Meanwhile, enterprises should offer high-quality goods and services to meet consumer demand against the backdrop of a consumption upgrade."