Thousands of visitors, mainly Chinese, thronged as the 26th edition of the Harbin Ice-Snow World of the world’s largest ice-and-snow theme park, officially opened on Saturday at Harbin, the capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, which is also known as the ‘city of ice’.

In a press statement, the Chinese park says that themed Dream of Winter, Love among Asia, the park was built using 300,000 cubic metres of ice and snow, incorporating elements inspired by the upcoming 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games, which will open next February, right after China’s Spring Festival holiday. It is also the first major international ice and snow event hosted by China since the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

With an overall planned area of 1 million square metres, up from last year’s 800,000 square metres, the park is the largest in its 26-year history, say the organisers.

The statement adds that the park features nine major zones, recreating landmark landscapes of 42 countries and 3 regions that are members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in the form of ice-and-snow structures that can be illuminated at night, including replicas of the Taj Mahal as well of the Temple of Heaven in China and the Osaka Castle in Japan.

This year the park is the largest ever (Photo: Xinhua)

The statement adds that the main tower stands on the main axis of the park, featuring towering ice columns that depict the official emblem of the OCA.

The most popular attraction in the park, the Super Ice Slide, has increased the number of its lanes to 24, with a 300-metre-long windproof warm house mounted at the queuing area, allowing visitors to take a break from freezing weather while overlooking the park’s scenery.

The statement adds that as Saturday also marked the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and was an important festive day on Chinese lunar calendar. The organisers say that just one hour after the park opened, the queue for the Super Ice Slide stretched hundreds of metres.

In addition to ice-and-snow landscapes, the park has added fantasy shows, virtual reality projects and an immersive digital art museum to its inventory of winter wonders, offering new and exciting experiences for both global and domestic visitors. The ‘Snow Disco’ event, which attracted thousands of tourists last winter, will also be held at the Dream Stage in the park for this year’s edition.

“We wish to showcase the enthusiasm and confidence of the people in participating in ice-and-snow sports, and integrate a variety of new elements into this edition of the park,” says Guo Hongwei, Chairman, Harbin Ice-Snow World Company.

An adult park ticket is priced at RMB 328 (about USD 45.6). The park also offers discounted tickets and free admission to certain groups of visitors.

This year the park is the largest ever (Photo: Xinhua)

The statement adds that 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.

Last year, China recorded over 385 million winter leisure visits nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 38 pc, with related revenue up 50 pc. In Harbin alone, last snow season saw over 87 million visitors, up 300 pc year on year, and RMB 124.8 billion in tourism revenue, up 500 pc. The 25th edition of the Harbin Ice-Snow World received over 2.7 million tourists.

The organisers add that to accelerate growth of winter economy in the country’s northeastern region, the Chinese government has recently unveiled initiatives including establishing dedicated ice-and-snow holidays, increasing flight routes and optimising visa-free policies, all aimed at attracting more domestic and international visitors.