An aerial drone photo shows a view of the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, Dec 21, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

Gliding down an over-500-meter-long ice slide, Zhang Jiajia felt like she was flying, and that her one-minute experience had been worth the hour-plus wait in line.

"It's super exciting. My heart soared with me," said Zhang, a tourist from east China's Zhejiang province, after trying the Super Ice Slide at the iconic Harbin Ice-Snow World, which kicked off its annual run on Saturday.

The world's largest ice-and-snow theme park, the 26th edition of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, officially opened at 10 am in Harbin, the capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province also known as the "city of ice."

Themed "Dream of Winter, Love among Asia," the park was built using 300,000 cubic meters of ice and snow, incorporating elements inspired by the upcoming 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games, which will open next February, right after China's Spring Festival holiday. It is also the first major international ice and snow event hosted by China since the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

With an overall planned area of 1 million square meters, up from last year's 800,000 square meters, the park is the largest in its 26-year history.

The park features nine major zones, recreating landmark landscapes of 42 countries and 3 regions that are members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in the form of ice-and-snow structures that can be illuminated at night, including replicas of the Temple of Heaven in China, Osaka Castle in Japan and the Taj Mahal in India.

The main tower stands on the main axis of the park, featuring towering ice columns that depict the official emblem of the OCA.

"The ice sculptures are incredibly exquisite. It's hard to imagine that they are made of ice blocks harvested from the Songhua River. Each piece of artwork showcases the superb craftsmanship of the artists," said Zhong Xueying, another tourist from Zhejiang.

The most popular attraction in the park, the Super Ice Slide, has increased the number of its lanes to 24, with a 300-meter-long windproof warm house mounted at the queuing area, allowing visitors to take a break from freezing weather while overlooking the park's scenery.

Saturday also marks the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. The day not only means another solar term but also marks an important festive day on Chinese lunar calendar.

Just one hour after the park opened, the queue for the Super Ice Slide stretched hundreds of meters.

In addition to ice-and-snow landscapes, the park has added fantasy shows, virtual reality projects and an immersive digital art museum to its inventory of winter wonders, offering new and exciting experiences for both global and domestic visitors.

The "Snow Disco" event, which attracted thousands of tourists last winter, will also be held at the Dream Stage in the park for this year's edition.

"How lucky! Today is the last day of my trip to Harbin, and I didn't expect to witness the opening of the Ice-Snow World. I'm so happy that it feels like I'm celebrating the Chinese New Year in advance," said Dai Xiaoqin, a tourist from Wuhan city in Hubei province.

"We wish to showcase the enthusiasm and confidence of the people in participating in ice-and-snow sports, and integrate a variety of new elements into this edition of the park," said Guo Hongwei, Party secretary and chairman of Harbin Ice-Snow World Co., Ltd.

An adult park ticket is priced at 328 yuan (about $45.6). The park also offers discounted tickets and free admission to certain groups of visitors.

As an established ice-and-snow theme park, Harbin Ice-Snow World stands out as one of China's iconic winter attractions. It surged in popularity on Chinese social media last winter, becoming an internet sensation as passion for winter sports and tourism continues to rise across the country.

Last year, China recorded over 385 million winter leisure visits nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 38 percent, with related revenue up 50 percent.

In Harbin alone, last snow season saw over 87 million visitors, up 300 percent year on year, and 124.8 billion yuan in tourism revenue, up 500 percent. The 25th edition of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, in particular, received over 2.7 million tourists.

To accelerate growth of winter economy in the country's northeastern region, the Chinese government has recently unveiled initiatives including establishing dedicated ice-and-snow holidays, increasing flight routes and optimizing visa-free policies, all aimed at attracting more domestic and international visitors.

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