Harbin aims to attract more foreign tourists to China’s winter wonderland
A plan for developing China’s snow and ice economy includes extending the duration of visa-free transit stays
Last winter’s tourism boom made Harbin a top destination for domestic visitors. Now, the northeastern Chinese city known for its annual ice festival and bitter cold is enhancing policies to attract more international tourists.
Rachael Lim, a tourist from Malaysia, recently shared her experiences in Harbin on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu – “Little Red Book” in English – describing the city as “beautiful, cold, and dreamy”.
“My country has summer all year round, so snow is something we long for,” she said. “Harbin fulfilled all my winter fantasies.”
The mutual visa-free policy introduced by Malaysia and China last year allowed Lim to stay in China for two weeks, during which time she also visited other cities near Harbin, which is the capital of Heilongjiang province.
Official data shows that Heilongjiang welcomed 471,000 inbound tourists in the first half of this year, up 158.7 per cent year on year, with 383,000 of them being foreign visitors.
According to a report by Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agency, six of the top 10 source countries for tourists visiting Harbin last year were in Southeast Asia.
