The festive ways of a wintry world

Houses covered with snow in Xuexiang village. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In 2014, Yabuli linked the skiing resources of three mountains, becoming a top-notch ski facility in Asia. Visitors can now use one card to experience 46 tracks spanning a total 50 kilometers across those mountains. Snow tubing and snowmobiles are also available.

As a result, more than 370,000 people visited during the snow season spanning the end of 2014 and early 2015, more than double that of the previous season.

Heilongjiang's tourism authority's head, Xi Dongguang says: "We will grow the (winter tourism) industry while introducing China's unique winter resources to the world."

Meanwhile, the province joined hands with five Chinese northern destinations to boost ice-snow tourism at the fifth China tourism industry development annual meeting on December 25.

(The meeting also declared the top 10 winter landscape sceneries and the top 10 festive activities in China.)

The province, along with the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Beijing, and Hebei, Jilin and Liaoning provinces formed an association to promote travel to their locations during the cold months.

Heilongjiang is a good launchpad for other destinations where ice and snow lure tourists, says Xi.