In China's Harbin, world's largest ice-and-snow park draws record visitors

HARBIN -- Harbin Ice-Snow World, the world's largest ice-and-snow theme park, has welcomed over 3 million visits as of Tuesday, setting a new attendance record just 52 days into its 26th edition, organizers announced.

Located in Harbin, the capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province and often referred to as the "city of ice," this year's park was built with 300,000 cubic meters of ice and snow and features elaborate ice structures inspired by the 9th Asian Winter Games, which Harbin is hosting.

Beyond its artistic ice sculptures, the park offers a range of interactive winter attractions, including a snowflake ice maze, ice rinks, and a massive ice slide complemented by over 20 smaller ones.

"It's freezing, but absolutely stunning! During the day, the ice sculptures glisten like crystals, and at night, dazzling lights transform the park into a winter wonderland," said Mandizvidza Shalom Zivo, a visitor from Zimbabwe.

The park covers 1 million square meters, up from 800,000 square meters last year. This is the largest in its 26-year history.

As an established ice-and-snow theme park, Harbin Ice-Snow World stands out as one of China's iconic winter attractions. It surged in popularity on Chinese social media last winter, becoming an internet sensation as passion for winter sports and tourism continues to rise across the country.

"Through this park, we aim to enhance the global reputation of Heilongjiang and Harbin as premier winter destinations," said Sun Zemin, deputy director of the marketing department at Harbin Ice-Snow World Park Co., Ltd.

With its booming ice-and-snow tourism, northeast China has gained fresh appeal. Once known as the country's rustbelt, the region has long struggled with a painful economic transition and talent outflows.

China aims to boost its ice-and-snow economy as a new source of growth, targeting an economic scale of 1.2 trillion yuan (about $167.34 billion) by 2027 and 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030, according to guidelines released by the State Council last year.