Foreign envoys invited to NE China to witness winter sports boom

Foreign envoys watch a winter fishing ceremony over the frozen Jingpo Lake in the city of Mudanjiang in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on January 23, 2024. Photo: Zhang Changyue/GT

"I'm really interested in seeing what winter tourism looks like in northeast China with its domestic tourists, especially how popular the skiing and other winter sports have become among Chinese people," Rebecca Needham, Acting Political Counsellor of the New Zealand Embassy in China, told reporters after visiting the Jingpo Lake (Mirror Lake) and the Snow Town in northeast China's Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang Province.

Mudanjiang is the first destination for a diplomatic delegation which included Needham. Made up of dozens of senior officials working at foreign embassies and consulates in China including Austria, Switzerland, Lebanon, Slovakia, Slovenia, Singapore, Poland, Mongolia, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the UK, Canada, Kazakhstan, Finland, Pakistan and the US, the delegation was invited to Heilongjiang Province after the "ice city" Harbin became a hot winter attraction drawing droves of tourists to enjoy the fun of ice and snow.

Starting from Tuesday, the delegation's five-day trip began from Mudanjiang to Shangzhi, then to Harbin, covering the main attractions including the largest volcanic lava barrier lake Jingpo Lake, the current winter tourism boom Snow Town, the annual Ice and Snow Festival, the Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Show, and the Central Street.

The diplomats will also visit Yabuli Sports Training Base, the skiing competition venues for the Asian Winter Games and Heilongjiang Provincial Ice Training Center, experiencing skiing and curling and knowing about the preparation for the Asian Winter Games which will kick off in 2025 in Harbin.

"Skiing and other winter sports are much more popular than before in China with its domestic tourists. People in New Zealand ski in July and we are really interested in promoting New Zealand to Chinese travelers for winter tourism," Needham noted.

After witnessing a winter fishing ceremony, a tradition which has lasted for over a thousand years, over the frozen Jingpo Lake on Tuesday afternoon when the outdoor temperature was below minus 20 C, Peter Lizak, the Slovakian ambassador to China, said he admired the fishing technique.

He said he's used to the cold as Slovakia temperature in winter was often under -10 C. "We have similar ice and snow and we ski. I look forward to skiing in the following days," Lizak said.

Skiing at the Yabuli Ski Resort was highly anticipated by foreign diplomats. The resort hosted the 3rd Asian Winter Games and the 24th World University Winter Games. In 2025, the snow events for the 9th Asian Winter Games will also be held in the resort.

This winter has proven a significant season for Harbin, as interest in winter destinations soared after social media posts showed many Chinese flocking to the northern city. During the three-day New Year's Day holidays, the city saw about 3.05 million tourist trips and a total tourism revenue of about 5.91 billion yuan ($832 million), both representing historical highs, according to local official data.