Sizzling theme park ignites Harbin’s ice, snow economy

BEIJING: Ban Ruiqi and her family recently took a trip to Harbin in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province.

Despite the extremely cold weather there, the tourists from Beijing skied, shopped, and generally had a good time during the three-day New Year holiday.

“We went to the Chinese-Baroque Historic Block in the morning and the Harbin Ice and Snow World in the afternoon, where I saw some local souvenirs and specialties. I bought some for my friends and relatives back home. I especially liked the hand-drawn postcards,” Ban said.As an increasing number of travellers show greater enthusiasm for winter tourism, Harbin’s ice and snow economy is booming.

With the opening of various ice and snow-themed parks, the city has become popular among tourists.

In the two weeks since the opening of Harbin Ice and Snow World on Dec 18, the city’s popularity in searches on China’s travel website Mafengwo surged 300%, making it an “internet celebrity” city, data from the online platform showed.

According to Harbin Taiping International Airport, the airport realised an annual throughput of 20 million passenger trips on Dec 20, setting a record for the Northeast China region.

A report released by online travel agency Ctrip showed Harbin ranked on a list of hot New Year holiday tourism destinations in China this year.

During the three-day holiday period, air and train ticket bookings to Harbin grew by 631% year-on-year.

The Harbin airport added 11 domestic routes and operated 463 flights on Dec 22, transporting over 70,000 passengers, setting a record for passenger flow.

On Dec 26, hotel bookings in Harbin for the New Year holiday on Beijing-based online travel agency Qunar surged 2,570% on a yearly basis, while those for bed-and-breakfast stays on homestay platform Tujia soared 2,700%. — China Daily/ANN