Ice City's a hot spot

Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province and host city of the ongoing 9th Asian Winter Games, has once again become a tourist hot spot this winter, attracting countless visitors from around the world.

Data from the city's bureau of culture, radio, television and tourism shows that from Jan 1 to Feb 9, Harbin received a total of 424,000 inbound tourists, a year-on-year increase of 145.1 percent.

During the recent eight-day Spring Festival holiday, Harbin received around 100,000 inbound tourists, a 144.7 percent increase compared to the previous year.

"Since the start of the ice and snow season, we have been focusing on the needs of tourists, comprehensively upgrading tourism services, and striving to provide a thorough and multilevel service experience for domestic and foreign tourists," Wang Hongxin, director of the bureau said at a news conference on Monday.

"Major tourist attractions such as Harbin Ice and Snow World, Harbin Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo and the Siberian Tiger Park have been equipped with Chinese and English signs and guide maps, as well as guides and broadcasting services in multiple languages," said Wang. "Central Street has achieved full coverage of free WiFi, and provides services such as temporary rest areas, ginger tea, hot water and luggage storage for tourists."

Wang noted that there are over 1,300 bank branches in the city that can handle foreign currency exchanges and over 5,800 shops that can accept foreign card payments.

Foreign currency self-service exchange machines have been installed at Harbin Taiping International Airport and the Central Street Tourism Distribution Center.