HARBIN (CHINA) (XINHUA/ITALPRESS) – Large-scale construction of the world’s largest ice and snow amusement park, Harbin Ice-Snow World, began on Tuesday in Harbin, the capital of China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province.
Work on the construction of the park, which this winter will cover an area of 1.2 million square meters, started three days earlier than last year. About 10,000 workers will use about 200,000 cubic meters of ice stored for more than ten months to make ice sculptures and structures, as the river has not completely frozen over this winter, said Cong Peiyu, director of Harbin Ice-Snow World Co.’s engineering and development department. Ltd.
Starting early and using stored ice will help the park open on schedule in late December, Cong said.
Last season, which lasted 68 days from December 21 to February 26, the park had more than 3.56 million visitors.
Expecting more visitors this winter, the park plans to add new attractions, including hot springs camping, snow soccer and other winter activities, supported by enhanced smart tourism services.
Harbin, often referred to as China’s “ice city,” has turned its long, cold winters into a major tourist attraction. Last winter, the city received a record number of 90.36 million visitors, generating revenue of 137.22 billion yuan (about $19.37 billion), an increase of 16.6 percent over last year.
Besides the Ice-Snow World, Harbin also promotes two other major winter destinations: the Sun Island Snow Fair, which covers an area of 1.5 million square meters, and the Ice and Snow Carnival along the frozen Songhua River, which each hosts about 260 snow sculptures and 60 ice and snow entertainment projects, said Wang Hongxin, director of the city’s culture, radio, television and tourism department.
This expansion comes as China pushes its ice and snow economy to become a major growth sector. In November 2024, the General Office of the State Council announced a goal to expand the industry to 1.2 trillion yuan by 2027 and 1.5 trillion by 2030.
(ITALPRES).
-Xinhua Photo-
