China’s huge “ice city” Harbin is drawing tens of millions of visitors as it hosts month-long winter festival Harbin Ice Festival.
Harbin has built its tourism sector into a ten-billion dollar industry and is renowned as one of the China’s top winter destinations.
The city has been making good use of its ecological resources including ice and snow, and forests and wetlands, to build itself into a top-notch, all-season tourist location, while also being a popular international tourist attraction in winter. The city received more than 77-million tourists in 2017 and made a total revenue of about $17-billion.
It has gained international attention for ice and snow festival, which features elaborate ice sculptures, competitions and a plethora of winter sports.
There are diverse winter activities which have been appearing since Harbin held its first ice lantern fair in 1963, with the first ice and snow festival following in 1985. A theme park with snow scenery and magnificent ice sculptures was built by the local government in 1999 to welcome in the new millennium.
The highlights include sled rides on the Songhua river, mass weddings, and towering sculptures of ice and snow carved by thousands of artists and workers. Visitors marvel at the mini ice replicas of the Colosseum and of the Milan Cathedral, particularly in the long evenings when soft, coloured lights illuminate the sculptures. The festival also attracts millions of domestic tourists.
