Harbin, February 20 (Xinhua) — When the Spring Festival meets the Winter Olympics, the "ice and snow fever" ignites new consumption vitality
Xinhua News Agency reporters Yang Siqi and Liu Heyao
At the beginning of the first lunar month, there were frequent good news at the Milan Winter Olympics, with Chinese athletes Su Yiming, Xu Mengtao, and Ning Zhongyan winning gold medals one after another. The good news spans across oceans, coinciding with the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival in the Year of the Horse. On this fertile land of ice and snow in Heilongjiang, a scorching new driving force for development is surging.
Yabuli Ski Resort stays open during the Spring Festival. The winding snow trail is crowded with people, whether they are beginners or experienced skiing enthusiasts who pursue the limits, they all enjoy the "speed and passion" of snow here.
Shanghai snow enthusiast Mao Bowen has just finished his advanced runway skating and his face is full of joy: "Yabuli has delicate snow quality and professional ski slopes. Influenced by the Winter Olympics this year, I feel that there are obviously more people on the ski slopes. Everyone is celebrating the New Year with sports
Tourists are skiing at Yabuli Ski Resort. (Image provided by interviewee)
Wu Zheng, born in 2002, is a local skiing coach in Harbin who has been busy this Spring Festival. I lead three students a day, each for three hours, and spend almost all day on the snow field from morning till night, "said Wu Zheng.
Most of his students are born in the 1990s and 2000s. Previously, people used to play in the snow, but now more and more people want to 'skate well', especially after the Beijing Winter Olympics and Harbin Asian Winter Olympics. People's understanding of ice and snow sports has changed, and professional equipment and advanced teaching have become essential, "he said.
The head of the Cultural Tourism Management Department of Yabuli Management Committee introduced that as of February 19th, Yabuli Ski Resort has received more than 62000 visitors during the Spring Festival holiday, a year-on-year increase of 3.6%, achieving a "good start" to the Spring Festival.
When the Spring Festival meets the Winter Olympics, the craze for ice and snow sports sweeps across China, and the enthusiasm for participation among the whole nation continues to rise. The ice and snow economy is taking advantage of the trend and flourishing. "Embracing the New Year with ice and snow" is becoming the most dynamic new trend of the new era, injecting strong momentum and unique excitement into the Spring Festival.
On the first day of the Chinese New Year, Sichuan tourist Li Biyun spent an unforgettable "Ice and Snow Year" in Harbin, not just in shock, but also in emotion. In her opinion, in this "Ice City" with over 60 years of ice and snow culture, ice sculpture art is amazing, ice and snow sports are full of charm, and the heartfelt enthusiasm of Northeasterners brings a heartwarming New Year's atmosphere.
This is a cultural performance organized by Harbin Ice and Snow World. (Image provided by interviewee)
As the main stage location of the Harbin branch of the 2026 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, Harbin Ice and Snow World has become a popular check-in spot; The Sun Island Snow Expo scenic area, which is not far away, has carefully carved multiple horse shaped snow sculptures to coincide with the Chinese New Year of the Horse, integrating zodiac culture with ice and snow skills; In the Chinese Baroque historical and cultural protection block, tourists stroll on breadstones that carry century old memories, feeling the fireworks atmosphere during festivals
The popularity of ice and snow tourism is not only in "Erbin", but also surging in the vast forest. The "China Snow Village" scenic area is decorated with lights and colorful decorations, and the sound of drums and gongs is deafening. The various shapes of "snow mushrooms" complement the fiery red lanterns, and folk performances such as Northeast Yangko dance are performed one after another. Tourists from all over the world celebrate the festive Chinese New Year in the icy and snowy world.
This year's Spring Festival, the enthusiasm of tourists for ice and snow tourism has been particularly high, and many rooms were booked before the holiday, "said Li Yanlin, who has been running a homestay in Xuexiang for many years, with a smile." Now the homestays are packed every day, and everyone's lives are as prosperous as this red lantern
A horse shaped snow sculpture at the Harbin Sun Island Snow Expo. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Heyao
With the support of exciting ice and snow sports, ice and snow sports have become the "new fashion" for thousands of households during the Chinese New Year.
With the arrival of the snow season, Heilongjiang Province has activated idle resources and built about 3000 mass ice and snow venues based on natural rivers, lakes, parks, squares and other open spaces. During the Spring Festival, the provincial ice and snow sports super league continued to be hot, and various folk ice and snow sports with a wide mass base had a strong sense of participation, with laughter and ice play everywhere.
The ice and snow craze is still strongly driving the upgrading of the upstream equipment industry.
In the workshop of Harbin Qianmao Xuelong Sports Equipment Co., Ltd., the production line is running at full capacity, and products such as ski shoes and fasteners are continuously being produced offline. The company's general manager, Li Zhibo, introduced that the company's independently developed competitive snowboard, with its patented hard core technology, keeps the ski equipment lightweight while being more resilient, and has widely covered the domestic market.
Nowadays, Heilongjiang is seizing the historical opportunity, making every effort to build a world-class ice and snow tourism destination and an ice and snow economic highland, accelerating the construction of a full industry chain ecosystem, and continuously creating new business models of "ice and snow+". Data shows that the total output of the ice and snow economy in the province will achieve a strong growth of 13.2% in 2025.
Industry insiders analyze that the "ice and snow fever" that continues to heat up during the Spring Festival holiday is not only a vivid manifestation of the people's consumption upgrade and enjoyment of a healthy life, but also a powerful witness to the vigorous development of China's ice and snow economy in the post Winter Olympics era.
From competition on the field to public participation, from ice and snow tourism to equipment manufacturing, the deep integration of ice and snow sports with the Spring Festival is continuously releasing the "hot effect" of "cold resources" and injecting new vitality into the high-quality development of the Chinese economy.