Harbinn ice and snow festival kicks off

The 29th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival kicked off Saturday.

Our correspondent Ma Di has this story.

PKG

STANDUP: MA DI, CNC CORRESPONDENT

"This is Harbin ice and snow world, located in the capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang province. The 29th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival kicks off here Saturday. More than 100 activities will be presented, categorized into 5 parts including tourism, arts, sports, economy and trade, and culture."

The night at the ice and snow world has become a carnival stage.

The dazzling ice sculptures and vivid snow sculptures are everywhere.

Many tourists come to Harbin for the first time and they marvel at such a wonderful view of the snow and ice world.

SOUDBITE: Tourist

"I wonder how those ice sculptures are carved. It's awesome." h

SOUDBITE: Tourist

"I'm from Shanghai. This is the first time that I came to Harbin. It's really cold here but it' s quite beautiful. I have taken many photos and I hope that I will come here next year."

The Ice and Snow Festival attracts not only domestic tourists, but also many foreign visitors.

SOUDBITE: Tourist

"Oh, it's absolutely amazing. We can't believe all the works gone into putting this together. It's a magical land, that's for sure and we are having a great time."

SOUDBITE: Tourist

"This is my first time in Harbin. This place is very beautiful and the sculptures are very beautiful. There are so many."

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival is one of the world's four biggest ice and snow festivals, along with Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival, Canada's Quebec City Winter Carnival, and Norway's Ski Festival.

Organizers say during the Harbin festival last year, a total of 13 million tourists came to the city.

And the total tourism revenue from this festival topped 2 billion U.S. dollars.