Record year in the offing for snow and ice tourism

The tourism market in Northeast China, led by Harbin, Heilongjiang province, is once again proving to be a big draw card this winter with its upgraded facilities after record tourism sales last year.

- By ZHU WENQIAN and ZHOU HUIYING

The Harbin Ice and Snow World theme park, to open in midDecember, will be expanded to 1 million square metres from 810,000 square metres last year. The number of ice and snow slides, highly popular with tourists, will rise from 16 to 24, the local government said.

As Harbin prepares to host the 9th Asian Winter Games in February, the park will also integrate Games elements to create a dazzling snow and ice world.

Bookings of hotels in Harbin have risen more than 50% year-on-year, and the number of searches for travel products related to Harbin last month was triple those of October, said Qunar, an online travel agency.

Modern Hotel of Harbin Madieer Group Co, which is located on Central Avenue, has upgraded its guest rooms to welcome the ice and snow season.