China News Service, Heilongjiang, December 25 (Zhao Huying, Zhang Shuyong) On the 24th, against the backdrop of a snow-clad and frozen Jingpohu Lake stretching for miles, the opening ceremony of the Second China Jingpohu Lake International Winter Swimming Challenge, part of the 2023-2024 Heilongjiang "Enjoy Ice and Snow" series under the 10th National Mass Ice and Snow Season, was successfully held at the Jingpohu Lake branch venue.

After the opening ceremony, with the starting gun fired, the athletes leaped into Heilong Pool like fish diving into water, swimming forward with great momentum. Nearly 500 winter swimmers from across the country engaged in fierce competition at the Diaoshuilou Waterfall section of Jingpohu. In winter, the frozen waterfall hangs like a curtain of pearls, shimmering under the sunlight like a dreamy wonderland straight out of a frozen fairy tale.

Mudanjiang is a top-tier Chinese tourist city and one of China's top ten ice-and-snow tourism destinations, renowned for its high-quality tourism resources such as Jingpohu—the world's largest volcanic lava barrier lake—and China Snow Town, a winter wonderland full of snowy charm. In winter, Mudanjiang not only offers premium ice-and-snow tourism but also boasts a solid foundation for winter sports, particularly the time-honored tradition of winter swimming.

This event is hosted by the Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau and the Mudanjiang Municipal Government, and organized by the Heilongjiang Jingpohu Lake Management Committee and the Mudanjiang Municipal Sports Bureau. The National Public Ice and Snow Season 2023-2024 "Enjoying Ice and Snow" series of activities in Heilongjiang and the International Winter Swimming Challenge held at Jingpohu Lake fully leverage the resource advantages of Jingpohu, such as its "big ice rink," "big snowfield," "big ice waterfall," and "big fishing ground." By planning diverse ice and snow tourism products and organizing popular ice and snow events, the event aims to create a comprehensive platform for public fitness, further promote the integration of ice and snow sports, culture, and tourism, and enhance the brand influence of Mudanjiang's ice and snow tourism.

In recent years, leveraging its unique natural resources, the Jingpohu Lake Scenic Area has successfully incubated a series of "tourism + sports" events, organizing and hosting multiple national and provincial-level large-scale winter sports competitions. It has successfully established a sports tourism demonstration brand. In December 2022, Jingpohu Lake was awarded the title of "National Sports Tourism Demonstration Base" by the General Administration of Sport of China and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. This year, it successfully hosted the "China Scenic Spot Sustainable Development Forum and the Integration of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Work Exchange Conference" and secured hosting rights for multiple sports events from national and provincial sports bureaus once again.

As one of the Heilongjiang branch venues for the National Public Ice and Snow Day launch event, Jingpohu Lake Scenic Area kicked off the 2023-2024 Heilongjiang "Enjoying Ice and Snow" campaign with the hosting of the 2nd China Jingpohu Lake International Winter Swimming Challenge, officially marking the beginning of Jingpohu's winter ice and snow sports tourism. Over the course of a month, Jingpohu Lake will also host a series of events including the Snowfield Hiking Cross-Country Race, Ice Dragon Boat Challenge, Youth Snow Soccer Tournament, Ice Marathon, Middle School Student Winter Camp, National Youth Winter Camp, and Ice Auto Testing and Challenge. "Boiling Ice and Snow Season, Happy Travels at Jingpohu"—this winter, Jingpohu Lake is "hot with snow" and full of excitement. (End)

Editor: Li Xiangmei