A delegation of foreign social media bloggers took a four-day tour of Harbin, the capital city of China's northernmost Heilongjiang province.
 
The bloggers, including those from Russia, Spain, South Korea, Syria and Belarus, learned about Harbin's ice and snow tourism, intangible cultural heritage, food culture and other aspects. They will go on to introduce the unique charm of Harbin to the world in the form of short videos to enhance the city's popularity and influence.
 
The activity was sponsored by the publicity department of the CPC Harbin municipal committee and the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration.
 
At the Wheat Straw Skill Inheritance Center, a part of Harbin Arts and Crafts Co, bloggers learned straw art skills and made their own works under the guidance of Li Baoxia, an eighth-generation inheritor of this national intangible cultural heritage item.
 
Wheat straw art skills have been developed and passed down for more than 100 years.
   
Over this period, hand-made techniques such as semi-relief, three-dimensional and round carvings have been developed and forming processes such as scalding, hair grabbing and tearing have been refined.
 
The color of the wheat straw works has been transformed from the material's raw color to multiple colors.
 
In Zhaolin Park, the delegation learned about Harbin's 60-year history in developing ice lanterns. The bloggers also tried their hand at making ice lanterns on site.
 
The delegation also paid a visit to the city's Harbin Ice and Snow World and the Harbin Sun Island Snow Sculpture Art Expo.