World's largest ice-and-snow park to close as temperatures rise

HARBIN -- Harbin Ice-Snow World, the largest theme park of its kind in the world, is set to close Wednesday night as temperatures rise, organizers announced Monday.

By Sunday night, the 64th day of its 26th edition, the park had clocked up 3.47 million visits.

Situated in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province in Northeast China known as the "city of ice," this year's park was constructed with 300,000 cubic meters of ice and snow.

Beyond its artistic ice sculptures, the park boasts a range of interactive winter attractions, including a snowflake ice maze, ice rinks, and a massive ice slide.

Recent seasonal temperature increases in Harbin, with highs surpassing zero degrees Celsius, have heightened the risk of outdoor ice melting.

To ensure year-round enjoyment, the world's largest indoor ice-and-snow theme park will reopen on Thursday after undergoing renovations. Located within Harbin Ice-Snow World, the facility, which was completed in July 2024, began its upgrades on Jan 30 and promises a unique ice-and-snow tourism experience for visitors in the spring, summer, and autumn seasons.

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

As an established ice-and-snow theme park, Harbin Ice-Snow World is one of China's leading 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.

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 $167.32 billion) by 2027 and 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030, according to guidelines released by the State Council last year.