As northeast China ushers in its ice and snow season, Harbin City of Heilongjiang Province is upgrading its winter tourism offerings and nurturing related industries to meet growing tourist demand and invigorate the seasonal economy.
At the Harbin Ice-Snow World, a renowned seasonal theme park which enjoys great popularity every winter, large-scale ice construction is in full swing. The park has expanded its area from 800,000 square meters to 1 million square meters this year to enhance the visitor experience.
To welcome the upcoming 9th Asian Winter Games, scheduled for February 2025 in Heilongjiang, the park will showcase ice sculptures inspired by iconic landmarks from various Asian countries. Dining and heating facilities in the park have also been upgraded, with a 40-percent increase in capacity.
"The park's main stage is even larger than last year's, and we've added eight more big slides, bringing the total to 24," said Cong Peiyu, director of the park's design and research department.
In addition to its upgraded facilities, Harbin, dubbed China's "ice city," has improved accommodation conditions and introduced innovative activities to attract tourists.
At the Harbin Design Center, over 40 design studios - more than 60 percent of which are led by young designers from other parts of China - are contributing to the city's growing creative economy. The center features a wide range of unique products, from snowflake-inspired brooches to miniature models of the Yabuli Ski Resort, all embodying Harbin's rich "ice and snow" culture.
"Harbin has a deep foundation for creative design. Its rich tourism resources allow us to develop unique branding and logo strategies for Harbin-themed gifts," said a young designer named Wang Minglai.
Harbin is also leveraging its ice-snow tourism appeal to foster the development of the winter apparel industry.
Several leading domestic winter clothing companies have established operations in Harbin. At a newly operational garment industrial park, a diverse array of winter apparel prototypes have been completed.
The park plans to roll out five more series of winter apparel featuring hundreds of designs in the future, with an estimated annual production of 2 million pieces.
"We've issued five trademark certificates for use, and 12 key industrial projects are in progress, with a total planned investment of nearly 2 billion yuan (about 276 million U.S. dollars)," said Zhang Jianhua, director of the consumer goods division at the Industry and Information Technology Department of the Heilongjiang Provincial Government.
Leveraging Heilongjiang's premium goose down production and the growing demand for winter clothes, Harbin is working to establish a comprehensive ice and snow apparel industry. This includes warm winter coats, high-end ski and skating outfits, and wearable smart gear, creating a full-fledged industrial chain.
Harbin boosts ice-snow economy with enhanced tourism offerings, creative industries
