An opening ceremony for the 2018 Charming Harbin Summer event is held in the Huaqi Hotel inHarbin, Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province on June 9. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

The 2018 Charming Harbin Summer event, the largest summer tourism and culture festival in the city of Harbin, capital of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, opened on June 9, and will run until September.

This year’s festival sees the exciting introduction of three newly-launched tourism brands: wetland sightseeing, summer resort and health care.

The city of Harbin came in at 19th place on a list of the world’s Top 100 Summer Resort Cities, joining amongst others Kunming, St Petersburg, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Melbourne; according to a list published by the International Cultural Geography Association in 2016. Harbin is also in the top three summer resort cities in China according to the list.

Harbin is also the capital city with the largest wetland area in China, which makes the city an ideal destination to avoid the summer heat and enjoy beautiful natural scenery.

Additionally, around 100 activities, including the 8th Harbin Songhua River Wetland Festival, the 34th Harbin Summer Music Concert and Harbin International Beer Festival, will be held during the four-month event.

Started in 2012, the Charming Harbin Summer event has been playing a crucial role in driving the development of tourism in the city.

Statistics reveals that Harbin received 31.97 million tourists from June to September 2017; and total tourism revenue for the summer tourist season hit 45.92 billion yuan ($7.17 billion), up from 24.43 billion yuan in 2012.