Harbin hosts 2025 Asian Winter Games: 'Brrrringly' cold weather fuels China's winter sports ambitions

As Chinese New Year celebrations continue nation-wide, Harbin, a city renowned for its ice and snow festival, is gearing up to welcome a new wave of visitors - this time, athletes and tourists from across Asia. 

As the host city for the 9th Asian Winter Games, Harbin is preparing to showcase its unique blend of winter sports, tourism, and hospitality.

Known for its frigid temperatures, which can plummet to as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius, Harbin's weather could be described as 'brrrrrringly' cold, but this only enhances its allure as a winter wonderland.

Yet, what truly distinguishes Harbin is its hospitality, which has earned it a stellar reputation throughout China. Whether it's the famous Ice and Snow Festival or the city's Russian-influenced architecture, Harbin offers far more than just sporting events. It offers a chance to experience the cultural and artistic sides of winter.

This marks the second time Harbin has hosted the Asian Winter Games, the first being in 1996. The return of the Games highlights the city's ambition to reaffirm its status as a winter sports hub, not just for China but for all of Asia.

Sustainability: a key focus 

Harbin has developed an approach to hosting the Games that focuses on sustainable development, which aligns with China's national strategy to promote sustainable urban growth and eco-friendly infrastructure.

Rather than building new venues from scratch, the city has prioritized renovating and repurposing existing ones. For example, university skating rinks have been upgraded to meet international standards, and even a local primary school has been transformed into a curling center.

The Games will be held at six venues, spread across the city. Notable among them are the Yabuli Ski Resort, which will host snow events, and the Heilongjiang Ice Training Centre, home to the multi-functional rink for short track speed skating and figure skating. 

Additionally, the Harbin Pingfang District curling arena will serve as the main venue for curling competitions.

Harbin's winter economy: A new era of city growth

Harbin's economic transformation over recent years is quite noticeable. Once known as the "eldest son of the Republic" due to its industrial roots, Harbin has successfully rebranded itself as a premier destination for winter tourism. This transition is largely driven by a concerted effort to build a robust ice and snow economy.

The city is home to several ski resorts, including Yabuli International Ski Resort, China's largest and most developed ski resort. Furthermore, Harbin's Ice and Snow Festival, which runs annually from January, attracts visitors from all over the world. 

The festival features massive, intricate ice and snow sculptures, and artists compete to create stunning works of art carved from ice blocks. This year, during the eight-day-long Spring Festival holiday, over 610,000 trips were made to Harbin's Ice and Snow World.

In addition to winter sports, Harbin's rich Russian influence adds another layer of appeal - luring visitors to explore the city's Russian-style architecture, Russian pastries and sausages, and its unique cultural fusion. This connection to Russia is part of the city's broader identity and provides an intriguing cultural experience for tourists.

The timing of the Games: A boost for local tourism and business

The 2025 Asian Winter Games takes place between February 7 and 14, aligning with the Lunar New Year and Valentine's Day, two major celebrations in China. The timing is expected to significantly increase the number of tourists visiting Harbin, providing a much-needed boost to the city's local businesses. 

From hotels and restaurants to transport and retail sectors, the economic impact of the Games is likely to be profound.

Local authorities are already seeing the benefits. During this year's Spring Festival, the combination of the ice and snow tourism boom and the Asian Winter Games led to a 20.4 percent year-on-year increase in total visitors to the city. 

In the 2023 - 2024 snow season alone, Harbin welcomed more than 87 million tourists, a staggering 300 percent increase on the previous year. This surge translated into an estimated $17.5 billion in the city's tourism revenue, reflecting a 500 percent growth from the previous season.

China's ambitious winter sports agenda

The significance of the 2025 Asian Winter Games extends beyond Harbin. The event is part of China's broader goal to become a global powerhouse in winter sports. 

Building on the success of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, China has ramped up its efforts to develop winter sports infrastructure, cultivate talent, and promote winter activities across the country.

One of the country's key targets is to expand the ice and snow economy to about $210 billion by 2030, according to China's top economic planner. This ambitious goal will focus on three main areas: winter sports, winter tourism, and winter equipment manufacturing.

The development of the ice and snow economy also ties into the pledge made by Beijing in 2015 to engage 300 million people in winter sports - a target that was achieved ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

A striking example of this investment is the creation of indoor ski resorts in regions where natural snow is limited. Sunac Snow Park in Guangzhou, billed as the world's largest indoor ski resort, allows millions of people in warmer southern China to experience skiing and snowboarding year-round. 

Similar facilities are being developed across the country, making winter sports more accessible to people who live in areas without cold winters.