The Second Heilongjiang International Skiing Festival opened on December 5 in Yabuli, 200 kilometres from Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province.

The month-long festival, sponsored by the State Tourism Bureau and the local government, is expected to receive over 500,000 tourists from 20 countries and regions.

Tourists will be offered 20 ski resorts during the festival, said Ning Shimin, director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Tourism Bureau.

"The festival will help promote the image of Heilongjiang and enhance overseas visitors' and investors' confidence in the development potentials of local tourism,"said Wang Zhenchuan, vice-governor of Heilongjiang.

In recent years, the provincial government has realized that the potentials of local tourism remain untapped. It is bent on attracting more overseas visitors with various measures.

As a year-round tourism spot, the Yabuli Ski and Vacation Resort, also the Windmill Village, is the largest of its kind in China to specialize in ski activities.