Tourists have a thrill at the fireworks at the opening ceremony of the 39th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival on Jan 5. [Photo by Liu Yang/For chinadaily.com.cn]
 
The China Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival ranked third in China's list of festival brands in 2022.
 
The result was announced at the 2022 China Brand Festival Year-end Ceremony, which was organized by the Topbrand Union on Jan 8.
 
The China Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival stood out in the overall evaluation of the brand festival index. That performance was based on a respected popularity index, an internet exposure index, influence index, regional economic stimulus index and a long-term history index.
 
Originating from the Ice Lantern Show in 1985, the festival has become one of the world's four largest ice and snow festivals - along with the Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan, the Quebec Winter Carnival in Canada and Norway's Ski Festival.
 
The festival is a symbolic event in Harbin, capital city of China’s northernmost Heilongjiang province - in terms of developing its ice and snow tourism.
 
Winter tourism peaked in Harbin in 2019 when the city hosted nearly 23.4 million tourists who brought in 39.71 billion yuan ($5.79 billion) in revenue - an increase of 11.4 and 17.1 percent, respectively, on the previous year.
 
According to the 2023 China Ice and Snow Tourism Development Report, Harbin holds first place as the most popular winter tourism destination in China.
 
"Harbin has plentiful ice and snow resources, a unique ice and snow culture and famous associated brands," Zhang Anshun, Party secretary of Harbin, told the opening ceremony of the 39th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival.
 
"It is a famous ice-snow music and culture city and an Olympic Champion City,” he added.
 
Harbin has ranked first in the list of China's Top 10 Ice and Snow Tourism Cities for five consecutive years and has been listed in the top 10 of “China's most sought-after cities by tourists in the world'."