By the third day of the New Year holiday, Harbin had received a cumulative total of 3.0479 million tourist visits, generating 5.914 billion yuan in tourism revenue. Both the number of visitors and total tourism revenue reached historic highs.

This winter, the nickname "Erbin" given by netizens to Harbin, a historic city with a century-old history, has gone viral: At the beginning of the new year, tourists from all over the country flocked to Harbin, and the entire Heilongjiang province pulled out all the stops to "welcome guests," embracing this wave of "overwhelming prosperity" in winter with scenic beauty, delicious food, and a stellar reputation, making the "cold resources" continue to heat up nationwide.

The viral success was no coincidence. Recently, the Party Secretary and Director of Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism stated in a media interview, "We've been preparing for this for a year." Going viral is just the beginning; how to seize the opportunity and leverage the momentum for sustained development of the ice and snow economy is what truly merits exploration.

Earlier, People's Daily Online, through its "People's Suggestions" column, solicited ideas from all sectors of society on "comprehensively revitalizing Northeast China in the new era." Recently, to explore "how to develop the ice and snow economy with high quality," reporters from People's Daily Online visited Harbin in Heilongjiang, Changchun in Jilin, Shenyang in Liaoning, and Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia, seeking advice and suggestions from people on the ground.

Focus more on "creating innovative content" around "folk culture features"

Frozen pear slices arranged on a plate, hot air balloons rising over the Songhua River, reindeer performances, "ice terracotta warriors"... The frequent surprises in Harbin have left local residents exclaiming how "unfamiliar" it all seems.

The popularity of Harbin this year has far exceeded that of previous years, and many traditional attractions have been given 'new twists' by tourists. Seeing his hometown go viral this year, Zhang Xinjue is genuinely happy and is already planning for its next steps in development: he hopes to combine existing unique landscapes and ice-snow resources to launch more and newer ice-snow cultural experience activities. For example, ice-snow festivals and Northeast folk customs could allow tourists to enjoy the ice and snow while gaining a deeper understanding of our culture.

The large outdoor snowman at Harbin Music Park attracted many visitors to take photos for keepsakes. (Photo by Xu Chenglong, People's Daily Online)

Not only in Heilongjiang, the "unfamiliar Harbin" is just a microcosm of the "hot" ice and snow tourism. During interviews, locals from several regions expressed hopes that their hometowns could leverage this tourism boom to showcase local folk culture and creative industries by enriching and innovating formats.

Here are some folk artists in our area who are passionate about paper-cutting, wheat straw paintings, sand art..." said Cui Jian, a resident of Zalantun City, Hulunbuir, expressing hope to fully utilize the resources of folk artists to create ice and snow tourism souvenirs with regional characteristics, "attracting more tourists from outside while also promoting our culture."

Native Changchun resident Li Shuai believes that building new dining and entertainment venues with ice and snow themes will provide tourists with more consumption options. "It is suggested that relevant departments introduce some preferential policies to further optimize infrastructure and services, enhance the visitor experience, and boost the appeal of cultural tourism."

"The suggestions from the public are excellent and provide valuable references for our decision-making," said Cui Yongzhe, deputy director of the Commerce, Culture, and Tourism Bureau of Changchun New District. He added that the local government will fully incorporate public feedback into the next phase of planning, integrating elements like "technology and innovation" into various projects.

Capture the hearts of more "young" people

In Shenyang, Liaoning, skiers from all over the country are queuing up in long lines in front of the "magic carpet" at the Guaipo Ski Resort.

"Every winter, I come here to learn skiing," said Ms. He, a 33-year-old resident of Shenyang and an avid skiing enthusiast. When discussing how the local area should innovate and develop winter sports, Ms. He shared her insights: "I hope ski resorts can incorporate more trendy elements to attract more young people to participate in skiing."

The Shenyang Guaipo Ski Resort was bustling with crowds. Photo by Zhou Songxue, People's Daily Online

My child is particularly fond of winter sports. When talking about "smart moves" to boost the winter sports economy, Wang Wei, a resident of Changchun, couldn't stop sharing his thoughts. "I hope we can develop study tours and family trips themed around winter sports, so students and parents can better understand winter sports and culture, and increase their willingness to participate," he said.

Residents in Harbin enjoy fun with ice and snow. Photo by Su Jinggang, People's Daily Online

"Winter sports should start with children," said Xu Meng, principal of Qingbin Primary School in Harbin. He emphasized the importance of utilizing social resources to create a vibrant campus winter sports atmosphere, allowing these activities to take root in the hearts of more young people. "Winter sports not only let children enjoy the fun of physical activity but also help temper their willpower."

Regarding the view that "campuses are an important platform for the dissemination of ice and snow culture," Liu Dan, a teacher from the Ice and Snow Sports Department of Heilongjiang Vocational College of Ice and Snow Sports, strongly agrees: "The sustainable development of ice and snow sports relies on the support of ice and snow culture. By organizing more exhibitions and other activities, we can enhance the spread of ice and snow culture on campuses to encourage more young people to participate in ice and snow sports."

"We will study and adopt the suggestions raised by the public," Cui Yongzhe, deputy director of the Commerce, Culture, and Tourism Bureau of Changchun New Area, told reporters. Proposals such as "organizing ice and snow study activities" and "developing indoor ice rinks" align with the local cultural and tourism plans. "We are currently in talks with a company in Shanghai to introduce a large-scale ice and snow study base, attracting primary and secondary school students from across the country to Beihu. At the same time, we will focus on researching and developing some indoor ice rinks, allowing everyone to enjoy the charm of ice and snow even in summer."

A thriving industry leads to promising prospects for wealth

"Liaoning's successful bid to host the '15th Winter Games' has thrilled us industry professionals." Speaking about future development, Wang Yang, a manager at a Shenyang ski resort, said, "We hope relevant authorities can enhance support in policy approvals and transportation infrastructure optimization to attract more people to experience the charm of skiing firsthand at our resorts."

Workers are producing sleds in the workshop of Heilongjiang Jindao Ice and Snow Technology Co., Ltd. Photo provided by Heilongjiang Jindao Ice and Snow Technology Co., Ltd.

With the continuous rise of winter sports, the ice and snow industry is ushering in unprecedented development opportunities.

In the production workshop of Jindao Ice and Snow Technology Co., Ltd. in Muling City, Heilongjiang Province, machines are roaring as workers busily assemble a batch of wooden sleds. "Some winter sports are quite specialized and cater to niche markets. To truly expand and strengthen the ice and snow industry, we need to develop more products suited for the general public," said Li Jiaxuan, the company's general manager. She shared that the company plans to focus on market demand, leverage its in-house R&D strengths, continuously adopt new technologies, and enhance the competitiveness of traditional industries by creating more innovative winter sports products. "Government advocacy is crucial. We hope relevant authorities can introduce supportive policies and organize group winter sports activities to inspire public enthusiasm for these activities," Li Jiaxuan added.

Like Li Jiaxuan, many entrepreneurs interviewed also emphasized the importance of "policy support" and "core competitiveness."

Government funding subsidies, tax incentives, and other measures to encourage enterprises to increase R&D and production investment are only the first step in accelerating the cultivation of the ice and snow sports equipment industry. Li Ji, general manager of Changchun Yitian Sports Culture Development Co., Ltd., believes that enterprises should also focus on talent cultivation, recruitment, and enhancing core competitiveness. "We should strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, introduce advanced international technologies and management experience, and enhance the global competitiveness of China's ice and snow sports equipment industry."

Applied to the Zhangjiakou competition zone of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Photo provided by Harbin Hongji Ropeway Engineering Co., Ltd.

Ice and snow are also invaluable assets. Leveraging ice and snow resources to develop new business models and products, thereby creating new competitive advantages in the ice and snow industry, will be the next development goal for many regions.

"We will seize the opportunity of Harbin hosting the 2025 Asian Winter Games and Heilongjiang Province establishing the 'China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Ice and Snow Sports Demonstration Zone' to fully tap into the market demand for ice and snow equipment driven by hosting winter sports events, vigorously develop the ice and snow equipment manufacturing industry, enhance the supply capacity of ice and snow equipment products, and promote the integrated development of the ice and snow equipment industry with ice and snow sports, culture, and tourism," said Li Jiang, Director of the First Equipment Industry Division of the Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology.

Regarding the recent phenomenon of Northeast China's ice and snow tourism frequently "going viral," Liu Haijun, director of the Northeast Revitalization Research Center (China Northeast Revitalization Research Institute) at Northeastern University, analyzed: "The influx of tourists from across the country has also driven the development of related industries such as culture, catering, accommodation, and sports. Regions can leverage their unique local culture and resource advantages to strengthen the 'ice and snow +' industry chain, introduce more new business models, and meet the diverse needs of consumers. At the same time, different areas should enhance regional collaboration to form synergies and jointly promote the high-quality and sustainable development of Northeast China's ice and snow economy."

The development of the ice and snow economy is timely. How should the three northeastern provinces and one region sustain this winter's boom in the future? Welcome to People's Daily Online."People's Suggestions Collection for Promoting the Comprehensive Revitalization of Northeast China in the New Era"Keep the tips coming. (Zeng Fan, Peng Shuting, Xiao Yuan, Wang Haiyue, Han Tingpeng, Liu Ting, Shang Cheng, Li Rui, intern Yao Xin)

(Editor: Peng Shuting, Zeng Fan)