Harbin, China – According to Xinhuanet, which participated in the event’s coverage throughout all stages, the “Global Mayors Dialogue in Harbin” opened on January 6 in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, gathering mayors and representatives from countries including Canada, Finland and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in Harbin, hailed as China’s “Ice City.”
During the three-day event, delegates visited major city landmarks such as the Central Street and the Harbin Ice-Snow World — the world’s largest ice and snow theme park, where the 42nd Ice and Snow Festival opened on January 5, gaining a firsthand experience of how the city is turning severe cold into gold.
Andrew Knack, mayor of Edmonton in Canada, which has maintained a sister-city relationship with Harbin for over 40 years, said that the annual Ice and Snow Festival has injected strong impetus into Harbin’s tourism.
“This is something that I could have never imagined and the scope and the scale of what’s been created here is truly a wonder. It’s a profound privilege to be here to experience this and just see what has been created now,” he said.
On his sixth visit to Harbin, Heikki Kontiosalo, deputy speaker of the city council of Rovaniemi in Finland, expressed his continued amazement at the city’s ever-prospering ice and snow economy.
Kontiosalo said Rovaniemi, located within the Arctic Circle and known as the “hometown of Santa Claus,” has a long snow season. This opens up lots of opportunities for the city to grow its winter tourism and help boost the economy in other ways, too.
He expressed hopes to strengthen cooperation with Harbin in areas including ice and snow technology, winter sports and related equipment.
Coinciding with the dialogue event, the inaugural Harbin International Ice and Snow Expo commenced on Tuesday in Harbin. Advanced ice-and-snow equipment, including industrial-grade unmanned snow-removal machines, snowmobiles and carbon fiber skis, is displayed, offering opportunities for international investment and cooperation.
So far, Harbin has established sister-city ties with 37 cities in 28 countries.
“Harbin has always embraced the world with an open attitude,” said Li Mian, the city’s executive vice mayor. He also highlighted the Global Mayors Dialogue’s role as a bridge for sharing development experience and promoting cooperation in the ice and snow economy.
As the origin of modern winter sports in China, the city recorded a total ice and snow economic output exceeding 160 billion yuan (about 22.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, accounting for about one-sixth of the national total, official data showed.