The world's largest ice and snow theme park, the 26th Harbin Ice and Snow World, has just officially opened in Harbin, the capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, also known as the "city of ice and snow". The annual Harbin Ice and Snow Festival began in 1999 and is held every year from December to early March.
Harbin Ice and Snow World was awarded the Guinness World Records title of “World's Largest Indoor Ice and Snow Theme Park” during its grand opening this month.
Themed “Winter Dream, Love in Asia,” the park is made from 300,000 cubic meters of ice and snow, incorporating elements inspired by the upcoming Harbin 2025 Asian Winter Games, which will open in February 2025, just after the Chinese New Year holiday. It will also be the first major international ice and snow event hosted by China since the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
With a total planning area of 1 million square meters, an increase from last year's 800,000 square meters, this is the largest park version in the 26-year history of the "ice and snow world".
The park has nine main areas, recreating the typical landscapes of 42 Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) countries in the form of ice and snow structures, notably the Temple of Heaven in China, Osaka Castle in Japan and the Taj Mahal in India.
“The ice sculptures here are so exquisite. It is hard to imagine that they are made from ice harvested from the Songhua River. Each piece of art shows the excellent craftsmanship of the artists,” said Zhong Xueying, a tourist from Zhejiang.
The park's most popular attraction is the Super Ice Slide, which has increased its lanes to 24, with a 300-meter-long windproof warm house installed at the queue area to give visitors a break from the cold weather while taking in the park's views.
Just an hour after the park opened, there was already a long line of people waiting to get on the Super Ice slide.
In addition to the snow and ice landscapes, the park also organizes magic shows, art exhibitions... bringing new and interesting experiences to both domestic and foreign tourists.
“What a blessing! Today is the last day of my trip to Harbin, and I didn’t expect to see the opening ceremony of the Ice and Snow World. I’m so happy because it feels like I’m celebrating the New Year early,” said Da Xiaoqin, a tourist from Wuhan, Hubei Province.
The park's admission fee for adults is 328 yuan (1.5 million VND). The park also offers discounts and free admission for certain groups of visitors.
As a famous ice and snow theme park - Harbin Ice and Snow World is one of China's iconic winter attractions and quickly became popular on social media last year.
Last year, China recorded more than 385 million winter vacationers nationwide, up 38% year-on-year, with related revenue up 50%.
Harbin alone had more than 87 million tourists, an increase of 300% over the same period last year, with tourism revenue reaching 124.8 billion yuan, an increase of 500%. Last year's 25th Harbin Ice and Snow World Festival alone welcomed more than 2.7 million tourists.
In order to boost winter economic growth in the Northeast, the Chinese government has recently announced tourism stimulus strategies with special ice and snow holidays, increasing the number of flights and optimizing visa-free policies, aiming to attract more domestic and international tourists, according to China Daily.
