After obtaining approval from the Chinese Olympic Committee and meeting the requirements set by the Olympic Council of Asia, Harbin, the capital of China's northernmost Heilongjiang province, has officially submitted its bid to host the 9th Asian Winter Games in 2025.
 
As of now, the preparations for the bid are well underway, and the final decision will be announced during the upcoming Olympic Council of Asia General Assembly, scheduled to take place in Bangkok, Thailand in early July.
 
The Asian Winter Games, known as the highest-level winter sports event in Asia, has been successfully held eight times.
 
From Feb 4 to 11, 1996, Harbin hosted the 3rd Asian Winter Games, marking China's first hosting of an intercontinental winter multi-sport event.
 
As the host city, Harbin treated audiences from all over Asia to a grand, spectacular, and successful winter sports feast, showcasing China's achievements in ice and snow sports development as well as its high level of proficiency in terms of event organization and management.
 
With its rich experience in hosting international winter multi-sport events, Harbin launched its bid for the 9th Asian Winter Games in May and has been actively advancing the preparations in an orderly manner.
 
If successful, this will be China's third time hosting the Asian Winter Games after Harbin previously did so in 1996 and Changchun in 2007.
 
Harbin will also become the second city, after Sapporo in Japan, to host the Asian Winter Games twice.
 
As such, this will be the city’s third international winter multi-sport event, as it also hosted the World University Winter Games in 2009.