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China's cool resort attracts travelers

By Nie Ligao (Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-12-29 11:48

Heilongjiang, China's northernmost province, is turning an "Arctic Village", featuring log cabins, deer-sled tours and snow saunas, into a popular destination for both domestic and overseas tourists.

An ice sculpture at the Harbin Ice and Snow World park in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, December 25, 2008. The park is ready for the upcoming 25th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival which falls on January 5, 2009. [Chinadaily.com.cn]

The village is located in Mohe County in the northern part of the province. Dubbed as "China's North Pole", Mohe is widely believed to be the coldest place in China, as the temperature there falls to as low as -45 C degrees during the winter.

Bo Xiru, chief of the Heilongjiang Tourism Bureau, called the village a "name card" in the making for the province's tourism industry.

Tourists can fly to the county directly thanks to the start of operations of an airport, the country's northernmost one, in June, Bo told reporters Friday at a press conference in the provincial capital.

Bo extended her welcome to tourists from home and abroad to spend their Christmas and New Year holidays in the province, which has a unique, exotic atmosphere due to its geographic vicinity to Russia.

"Apart from natural resources, Heilongjiang boasts a 3000-kilometer border with Russia. We have been planning cross-border tourism programs in cooperation with Russia," Bo said.

Generating a total of 56 billion yuan（US$8.24 billion）each year for the province, the tourism industry has become one of the province's economic pillars, Bo added.

The province is famous for its snow and ice culture annual festival showcasing artwork made of ice and snow. The upcoming 25th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival will kick off on January 5, 2009.

It will also host the 2009 World University Winter Games, which will display to the whole world Heilongjiang's abundant snow resources and large-scale modern skiing facilities.