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HARBIN, China, Oct. 24, 2024 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/--On October 30th, the theme song of the Asian Winter Games, "The Snow of Harbin," was released, and China Eastern Airlines launched its maiden flight of a wide-body painted plane themed for the Asian Winter Games, marking the 100-day countdown to the opening of the 9th Asian Winter Games.

"China Travel" Meets the Asian Winter Games

Recently, the official announcement from the Asian Winter Games organizing committee revealed that this session has become the one with the most participating countries. To date, 34 national and regional Olympic committees have registered to participate, with the highest number of registration in alpine skiing, short track speed skating, figure skating, cross-country skiing, and snowboarding. China, Japan, and South Korea are fully participating in all sub-events. For the first time, the Asian Winter Games will feature mixed doubles' curling, ski mountaineering, and synchronized aerial skills in freestyle skiing.

Harbin, the northernmost provincial capital of China, became an international top-tier city this year due to its ice and snow tourism. With the continuous expansion of China's visa-free entry, Harbin's popularity continues to rise, becoming one of the hot destinations for "China Travel." "It feels very good in Harbin, with cool weather and plenty of delicious food," said Alistair, a British tourist who recently visited the Siberian Tiger Park with his family of four. Travel bloggers Jack and Paige are already preparing for their second trip to China, taking three hours of Chinese lessons every day, and plan to start their journey in Harbin. On social media, some tourists have already shown their itineraries for booking tickets to Harbin three months in advance.

The Beauty of Diversity

Every winter, when it snows, Harbin becomes as dreamy as a fairy tale world; this winter, the Asian Winter Games with its many highlights will add even more dazzling splendor to the "Ice City," making it an event not to be missed. In 1903, with the completion of the Chinese Eastern Railway, this "city brought by train" was born, successively having about 20 countries' consulates and more than 200,000 expatriates from over 30 countries living here, known as the "Little Paris of the East" and "Eastern Moscow." Over the years, Eastern and Western cultures have collided and integrated here, endowing it with a unique charm: walking on the Central Street feels like being in Europe; the Chinese Baroque district has a layout of Chinese courtyards inside, the most intuitive embodiment of the combination of Chinese and Western cultures; the train station is like a real-life "Hogwarts Magic" platform.

On balconies at street corners, some people are holding "concerts"; in parks, some are having "singing competitions". At the end of the 19th century, China's first symphony orchestra and the first Western music school were born here, and the rich artistic heritage has been passed down to this day. Music flows in the blood of every Harbin resident, and the city has been awarded the title of "City of Music" by the United Nations. This ice and snow season, hundreds of high-level Chinese and foreign concerts, large-scale ice shows (ice acrobatics), and other innovative live performance projects, as well as artistic masterpieces like the musical "Harbin Enveloped in Darkness" will offer a feast for the senses.

A new day in Harbin starts with the morning market, with fried rice cakes, sticky bean bags, frozen pears, and frozen persimmons. The vendors sell with confidence, shouting "Delicious, if not fragrant, you can get your money refunded." There are "Northeastern hard dishes" like pot-fried meat, stewed dishes in iron pots, and Dalapier;  there are also Dalieba (big bread) and Harbin red sausages, which represent the flavor of Harbin and will also add a unique culinary experience to the Asian Winter Games.

"The Dual Asian Winter Games City" Moves Full Speed Ahead

The snow has not yet fallen, but the atmosphere of "welcoming the Asian Winter Games" has already permeated every street and alley. Harbin people have a tradition of "emptying their homes" to entertain guests. This time, the entire city is accelerating its internationalization process. The government has invested in renovating streets and roads, and all preparations for venues, events, and security have been fully upgraded. The temperature in the ice hockey stadium spectator stand is controlled at 15 degrees centigrade, making the viewing experience more comfortable. The world's largest ice and snow theme park, Harbin Ice and Snow World, with the theme of "Ice and Snow Dream, Asia United," has expanded its overall area by more than 20% this year, reaching 1 million square meters, making it even more shocking and dazzling; the city's core business district has "restored" an ice stadium from over 100 years ago, with drone lights changing colors with the rhythm of music; the "Beijing-Yabuli Asian Winter Special Train" has been opened; international and domestic air and rail transport capacity has been strengthened. Tens of thousands of Asian Winter Games volunteers have been assembled and trained, ready to "spoil guests" at any time.

According to Wang Hongxin, director of the Harbin Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism, "Starting from October 30th, the 2024-2025 ice and snow season will be launched, focusing on hosting the 9th Asian Winter Games, releasing the top ten fine routes of 'Travel with the Games,' and organizing high-quality international ice and snow festivals, skiing festivals, ice harvesting festivals, winter fishing festivals, ice and snow tourism forums, and other major events, striving to create a world-class ice and snow tourism resort."

Source: The Asian Winter Games Organizing Committee