Pictured: The unbelievable ‘ice metropolis’ in China
The ‘ice metropolis’ of Harbin, the snowy capital of northeast China‘s Heilongjiang province, attracted a report variety of guests over the New Year vacation, a lot of them drawn by the grand and complicated ice sculptures of its annual Ice and Snow Festival.
The towering ice constructions, illuminated in a blinding array of lights at night time, are constructed from ice blocks harvested from the frozen Songhua River close by. And there is not any hazard of them melting – temperatures in Harbin within the winter can drop to as little as -35C.
This 12 months’s competition helped draw 3.05million guests to Harbin through the three-day New Year vacation that ended on Monday, producing 5.91billion yuan ($826million/£650million) in tourism income, state media company Xinhua reported on Wednesday.
Those numbers exceeded the variety of pre-Covid visits in 2019.
The ‘ice metropolis’ of Harbin attracted a report variety of guests over the New Year vacation, a lot of them attracted by the grand and complicated ice sculptures of its annual Ice and Snow Festival (pictured)
This 12 months’s competition attracted 3.05million guests to Harbin through the three-day vacation that ended on Monday, January 1. Visitors are pictured above having fun with the competition on January 2, 2024
Growth within the metropolis’s lodging and catering sectors through the vacation interval greater than doubled from 2019, native newspaper Harbin Daily reported.
The metropolis’s tourism division attributed the expansion to Harbin’s growing recognition on social media platforms, Xinhua mentioned.
The tourism increase occurred as China’s providers exercise expanded on the quickest tempo in 5 months in December, lifting optimism within the sector to a three-month excessive.
The competition is illuminated in a blinding array of lights at night time and is about to final till March 2024, in accordance with its web site
The competition’s ice constructions (pictured) are constructed from ice blocks harvested from the frozen Songhua River close by
The tourism increase occurred as China’s providers exercise expanded on the quickest tempo in 5 months in December
Harbin’s authorities have rolled out actions to draw vacationers together with stay performances and concert events, theme parks and fireworks shows, in addition to enhancing eating, lodging and procuring providers, Xinhua mentioned.
The Ice and Snow Festival park acquired 163,200 guests over the New Year holidays, over 5 instances greater than a 12 months in the past, with virtually 40 per cent of these holidaymakers visiting on New Year’s Eve, Heilongjiang provincial tv mentioned in a social media publish.
That generated 46.18million yuan in earnings, practically six instances larger than a 12 months in the past, the provincial TV station mentioned.
Heilongjiang welcomed 6.619million vacationers over the three-day interval, practically triple from a 12 months in the past, producing tourism income of 6.920billion yuan (£766million/$972million), virtually 5 instances the year-ago determine, the station reported.
The Ice and Snow Festival park acquired 163,200 guests over the New Year holidays, over 5 instances greater than a 12 months in the past
Harbin’s tourism division attributed the expansion to the town’s growing recognition on social media platforms
Xinhua, a state media company, mentioned that Harbin’s authorities have rolled out actions to draw vacationers together with stay performances and concert events
The metropolis authorities introduced a particular public vacation, the Ice and Snow Holiday, for Friday, to coincide with the competition’s official opening.
The competition is about to final till late March 2024, in accordance with its web site.
The surge in home winter tourism has benefited native firms within the sector.
Shares of ChangBai Mountain Tourism Co, a journey service firm primarily based in northeast China, have soared by 26 per cent in Shanghai buying and selling because the final week of December, beating benchmark shares.
