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HARBIN, China, Jan. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

The 33rd Harbin Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Exposition recently

kicked off in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. Close

to 100 sets of ice sculptures and a variety of entertaining facilities like ice

slides offer visitors an unforgettable encounter with art and nature.

Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1421309/video.mp4

Over the past several years, Harbin, also dubbed the ice city, has been

harnessing its unique "freezing" resources for development and witnessed

thriving growth of the ice and snow economy. Statistics showed that during the

recent three-day New Year holiday, the city's 11 major tourist attractions

received 530,000 tourist arrivals.  

Heilongjiang Province boasts a snow season as long as half a year. Thanks to

its exceptional climate conditions, Harbin hosts many internationally acclaimed

ice and snow events such as the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival and

the Harbin Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Exposition. It also

houses leading winter resorts like Yabuli Skiing Town, China Snow Town and

Beiji (North Pole) Village. The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival has

emerged as one of the four global major ice and snow events. And the Harbin Sun

Island International Snow Sculpture Art Exposition is the largest and most

widely participated ice sculpture expo in China.

Internationally, it is generally believed that an economy is capable of

supporting the development of ice and snow industry when its GDP per capita

exceeds US$8,000. Ice and snow sports are thus considered "aristocratic games."

China may lag behind developed countries in professional winter sports, but the

country has long seen a solid fan base for ice and snow sports in Harbin. As

the matrix of Chinese ice lantern art, snow sculpture and ice and snow culture,

Harbin held the first ice lanterns celebration in China early in 1963. It

hosted the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, the first of its kind in

China, in 1985.

In addition, many professional winter sports events have also been held in

Harbin. Among them are the third Asian Winter Games in 1996, the Harbin 2009

Winter Universiade, the FIS Snowboard Half-Pipe World Cup, the World

Championships of Snowboarding 2016, and five National Winter Games.

A 2021 report on the ice and snow tourism development in China released by the

China Tourism Academy estimates that the 2020-21 snow season will see ice and

snow destinations attract 230 million tourist arrivals and witness a total

tourist revenue of more than 390 billion yuan (US$60 billion) given tourists'

demands and availability of high-quality tourist products and services.    

Given its advantages in developing ice and snow tourism, Harbin has set the

goal of building itself into a leading tourist destination for winter

vocations. Wang Zhaoli, Party chief of the city, said Harbin will tap into the

potential of its ice and snow resources, expand cooperation and boost a

higher-quality ice and snow economy in the next five years.

SOURCE: Information Office of the Municipal Government of Harbin