People enjoy an ice slide at the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 26, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Despite the subzero chill, Hong Kong middle schoolers Hu Ying and Huang Jiawen stood transfixed before glittering ice sculptures at Harbin Ice-Snow World's indoor park, captivated by northeast China's frozen artistry.

"Every piece is exquisite, especially this Siberian tiger, which is so lifelike," said Hu, who traveled here with Huang for their Easter break. The teens are part of a growing number of visitors discovering the year-round ice and snow charm of Harbin, dubbed China's ice city, located in northeast Heilongjiang Province.

As spring brings warmth to most of China, Harbin is defying the seasons with innovative, year-round ice and snow attractions. Its newly certified world's largest indoor ice-snow theme park reopened on Feb. 27, maintaining a frosty minus 10 degrees Celsius to preserve intricate carvings blending Asian Winter Games motifs and global cultural themes.

"We rushed here after visiting Central Street," said Huang. "Now I'm already planning a winter return with my family."

At the "BONSKI" indoor ski resort in the city's Songbei District, 14-year-old Wu Yupeng was skillfully carving his way down the snow track. A seasoned skier, Wu is a year-round regular at the resort.

The number of visitors to the ski resort has increased significantly recently, noted a staffer at the ski resort. Experiencing winter sports out of season has become a spring trend. The 80,000-square meter facility's eight gradient-designed trails now draw crowds once reserved for winter.

"Professional skiers from Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Russia also use this as their summer training base," the staffer said, adding that beginner-friendly slopes have made the sport more accessible to everyone.

With its abundant ice and snow resources, Heilongjiang has successfully cultivated well-known ice and snow tourism brands such as Harbin Ice-Snow World and "Snow Town" in recent years.

The market size of the ice and snow economy in Heilongjiang reached 266.17 billion yuan (about 36.9 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, with ice and snow tourism contributing 182.33 billion yuan to the total output, according to the provincial statistics bureau.

With 39 cultural and ice-snow projects under planning or construction, of which 21 are dedicated to winter tourism, Harbin is capitalizing on China's ambitious plan to develop its ice and snow economy as a new economic driver.

China aims to achieve a total market size of 1.2 trillion yuan for the ice and snow economy by 2027, with plans to reach 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030, according to a guideline released by the State Council in 2024.

"We're transforming winter's magic into a year-round phenomenon," said Wang Hongxin of Harbin's culture and tourism department.

As Hu and Huang departed, their phones brimmed with icy selfies -- proof that in Harbin, winter's enchantment never melts.