Winter Naadam stimulates consumption in Hulun Buir

A scenic spot featuring ice sculptures in Hailar district, Hulun Buir city, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has attracted crowds of tourists in recent days.

According to statistics, a total of 61 A-class scenic spots, star-rated village (pastoral areas) homestays, and key rural tourism villages in Hulun Buir have opened to tourists this winter, up 52.5 percent year on year, with some of them operating in winter for the first time.

Visitors attend the opening ceremony of the 20th Ice and Snow Naadam Fair in Hulun Buir city, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Dec. 17, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Kaiyan)

The city is using the 20th Ice and Snow Naadam Fair of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which kicked off in the city on Dec. 17, 2023, as an opportunity to develop new forms of winter tourism, with tourism playing a significant role in driving consumption, said Yang Hong, deputy director of the Hulun Buir municipal bureau of culture, tourism, radio and television.

The Naadam venue was full of joyous scenes as a series of activities including horse racing, intangible cultural heritage exhibitions, and hotpot tasting drew a constant stream of tourists.

On the day, over 10,000 people, more than half of whom were tourists from countries such as Russia and Mongolia and various parts of China, attended the grand winter carnival in temperatures of below minus 40 degrees Celsius. Despite the freezing conditions, they gathered around bonfires to join in the singing and dancing.

Tourists ride camels at the opening ceremony of the 20th Ice and Snow Naadam Fair in Hulun Buir city, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Dec. 17, 2023. (Xinhua/Bei He)

Wang Xiaoguang, general manager of a travel agency in Hulun Buir, said his agency received this year's largest tour group on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Ice and Snow Naadam.

Jin Yue, manager of a hotel in Bayantuohai township, Ewenki Autonomous Banner in the city, said the local hotel market has been thriving recently thanks to the Ice and Snow Naadam and its subsequent events.

"Our hotel's occupancy increased by 20 percentage points compared to previous years. All our rooms were booked for several consecutive days in December," Jin added.

In addition to hosting the opening ceremony of the Ice and Snow Naadam, the city has also held a series of cultural tourism activities, exhibitions, and sales promotions to further boost consumption.

On Dec. 16, 2023, an ice-and-snow product exhibition kicked off in the city, attracting over 170 kinds of products from exhibitors across the country. Statistics showed that during the exhibition, the on-site transaction volume reached nearly 98 million yuan (about $13.89 million), and 21 intentional deals were signed, with an intended turnover of 1.5 billion yuan.

Yang said Hulun Buir has rolled out subsidy measures to improve standards and efficiency in the development of the ice and snow tourism industry.

By improving policies to attract tourists, launching popular tourism products, developing superior tourism routes and ice-and-snow products, and supporting emerging business forms, the city will drive consumption upgrading through the development of tourism and better promote the ice and snow economy, Yang added.