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An ice collecting festival commenced last week in northeast China's Harbin, marking the beginning of the snow and ice tourism season of the ‘ice city’.

This year's Harbin ice and snow season is organised into four thematic sections and features seven major series of activities. With the launch of over a hundred ice and snow events, the city is committed to building itself as an internationally renowned destination for snow and ice tourism.

Ice collecting has been a time-honoured custom in the city. After Major Snow, or ‘Da Xue’ the 21st of the 24 Solar Terms on the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on 7^th December this year, local people take tools to the frozen Songhua River to collect ice cubes, which will be used in icehouses for food storage and for the materials of ice sculptures.

The custom has now turned to a major festival, which attracts visitors from all over the world.

Apart from ice collecting, tourists can also enjoy local food and ice sports during the festival.

The snow and ice tourism is becoming a major growth engine of Harbin and Heilongjiang Province. According to an industrial report released by China Economic Information Service, the Heilongjiang snow and ice tourism development index stood at 185.5 in 2022, up 9.38% year on year, with a growth rate of 65.95% in the investment of the industry.

The province will seek high-quality development of its ice and snow economy, unleashing the potential of its special natural endowment, said He Jing, head of the Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

Image. Workers collect ice from the Songhua River in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, 7th Dec 2023 Credit:Xinhua/Wang Jianwei

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