Trans-provincial tourism ties sprout
Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in Northeast China have started to work together to develop their tourism industries.
In mid-December, governments of the two provinces signed a strategic cooperation agreement at an International Ice and Snow Tourism Expo in Changchun, Jilin province.
“The cooperation opened a new model in trans-provincial tourism, which can help the two provinces see fast growth in tourism over the next few years,” said Wei Hongtao, deputy director of the China National Tourism Administration.
According to the agreement, a series of measures, including resource-sharing, co-creation of brands and co-development of markets, will promote the development of the tourism industry in the two provinces.
At the expo, the two provinces highlighted their landscapes that are famous for their magnificent winter scenes of snow, crystal-clear ice, hot springs and fascinating traditional folk customs.
They also launched five tourist routes connecting six of their most popular tourist cities: Harbin, Mudanjiang and Heihe in Heilongjiang and Jilin city, Hunchun and Yanji in Jilin.
“We should seize the opportunity of policy support after Beijing’s successful bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games and take advantage of the ice and snow sports industry as a new business growth engine,” said Liu Guozhong, governor of Jilin province. “We have confidence in building Jilin as a world-class ice and snow tourist destination.”
According to the Jilin Tourism Administration, the province received nearly 62 million tourists last winter, up 19 percent year-on-year, generating 116 billion yuan in revenue, accounting for more than 40 percent of the whole province.
For instance, the top two popular sites in the region, Wanda’s Changbaishan International Resort and Vanke’s Songhua Lake Resort, received more than 300,000 tourists last winter, which also made them the top two tourist snow destinations in the country.
Hotel rooms are not always easily available because of high occupancy rates in the two states.
Heilongjiang province is known as a winter wonderland and hosts the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, the snow sculpture exhibition at Sun Island and world-class ski events at the Yabuli resort.
Last winter, more than 1.3 million tourists visited the 18th Harbin Ice and Snow World, one of the world’s largest ice festivals, with ticket sales exceeding 330 million yuan.
The 19th Harbin Ice and Snow World, an 800,000square-meter park, began a trial run on Dec 18.
“It’s really one of the most unbelievable miracles I’ve ever seen,” said Wang Heying, 35, from Jiangsu province. “In my hometown, I seldom see snow and ice.”
Wang, a white-collar worker in Yangzhou, came to the park on the first day of its opening. “I started to track it as early as October. When I got to know about its opening date, I bought a plane ticket to Harbin immediately. When I saw the great ice sculptures, I was absolutely stunned.”
Wang Zengyu, deputy general manager of Harbin Ice and Snow World, said, “The 2017 CCTV Spring Festival Gala was a good advertisement for Ice and Snow World, so we rebuilt the scene to provide tourists more festive experience.
“Visitors will also have close encounters with the family of penguins brought from Harbin Polarland. A series of fashion shows will be also held in the park.
“With fame and prosperity of the park increasing, and given the city’s ice and snow festival, we believe there will be more tourists this year.”