World's largest ice and snow theme park to open in northeast China

HARBIN, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The world's largest ice-and-snow theme park, the 27th edition of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, will open to the public on Dec. 17 in China's "ice city" Harbin, the capital of the northeastern province of Heilongjiang.

The park spans a record 1.2 million square meters and uses 400,000 cubic meters of ice and snow under this year's theme "Ice and Snow, Fairy Tale World."

It will feature three main landscape axes, a large-themed parade, an outdoor stage and a newly built 5,000-square-meter air-supported facility. The venue incorporates technological elements like smart lighting and AI interaction.

A series of events, including the opening ceremony of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, international ice sculpture competitions, snow football and ice hockey matches, as well as a New Year's Eve concert, are scheduled within the park.

Tickets are available for advance purchase through Harbin Ice-Snow World's official WeChat account and other online channels including Meituan and Alipay. A promotional price of 298 yuan (about 42 U.S. dollars) per adult ticket will run from Dec. 17 to 23, before reverting to the standard price of 328 yuan.

Beyond the Ice-Snow World, Harbin is promoting two other major winter destinations: the 1.5-million-square-meter Sun Island Snow Expo and an Ice and Snow Carnival along the frozen Songhua River, featuring some 260 snow sculptures and 60 ice-and-snow entertainment projects, respectively. ■