HARBIN (Xinhua): The world's largest ice-and-snow theme park, the 26th edition of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, officially opened at 10 a.m., Saturday in Harbin, the capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
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.
With an overall planned area of a 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 which are members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), in the form of ice-and-snow structures which can be illuminated at night.
The main tower stands on the main axis of the park, featuring towering ice columns that depict the official emblem of the OCA.
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.
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.
"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 (US$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. The 25th edition of the park received over 2.7 million tourists last year.
The 9th Asian Winter Games, which will open in Harbin on February 7, 2025, is the first major international ice and snow event hosted by China since the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. - Xinhua
