The 47th Harbin Ice Lantern Fair recently kicked off in the northern Chinese 
city of Harbin. The event features about 270 groups of ice sculptures scattered 
across an area of six hectares. In addition to lifelike ice sculptures, the 
venue also offers interactive amusement programs such as ancient 
sailboat-shaped slides, octopus-shaped slides, and a clown labyrinth. They're 
not only for sightseeing, but also enable tourists to enjoy a thrilling 
experience on ice. 

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Simultaneously, the month-long 2021 Harbin Ice and Snow Expo was moved online 
for the first time with the help of new technologies such as 5G, big data and 
cloud computing. The expo includes six exhibition zones to respectively display 
ice and snow equipment, apparel, auxiliaries, ice sculpture tools, ice and snow 
tourism, and food for cold regions. Companies and audiences from around the 
world can view the expo and interact with exhibitors online. The expo is 
committed to provide a platform for those engaged in the ice and snow industry 
to carry out economic cooperation and exchange, enhance tourists' confidence in 
winter tourism amidst the pandemic, and inject new momentum into the 
development of the ice and snow economy. It also marks a new attempt made by 
the "Ice City" of Harbin to integrate its unique ice and snow resources with 
the digital economy. 

As the provincial capital with the highest latitude in China, Harbin has a 
long, cold winter, when the temperature may drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius 
and cold winds and snowfalls are frequent. Typically, extreme cold weathers may 
bring challenges to a city's daily operation and economic development. However, 
this isn't the case for Harbin, which has successfully turned this disadvantage 
into its iconic advantage. Through measures like expanding domestic and 
international markets for its ice and snow resources and presenting travel 
programs and theme parks including the Ice and Snow World, the city has boosted 
tourism development and turned its cold environment into a driving force for 
economic growth. 

As the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics draw near, Harbin has taken the opportunity 
to promote the development of the ice and snow industry at both supply and 
demand ends to meet the needs of tourists and travel agencies in the 
post-pandemic era. Through combined measures such as reinforcing brand building 
and improving tourist service capacity and quality, the city has established a 
high-quality ice and snow tourism products supply system.

Technological progress plays an important role in accelerating intelligent 
transformation and high-quality development of ice and snow tourism in Harbin. 
Since 2015, the Ice and Snow World has offered free Wi-Fi to tourists, and 
traditional lamps have been replaced by energy-conserving LED strip lights to 
provide better visual effects. Tourists can enjoy hot pot in cold igloos with a 
temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius. Such interactions between natural 
scenery and personal experiences will promote tourism and stimulate economic 
development. 
Source:Information Office of the Municipal Government of Harbin