Expo is the icing on the cake, to promote frosty fun

The ongoing China (Jilin) International Snow and Ice Tourism Industry Expo has become a prime showcase for Jilin's winter tourism sector - and an ideal stage for cooperation - according to the event's organizers.

The expo, now in its second season, is being held in Jilin City in the center of Jilin province.

The opening ceremony for the event was held on Dec 15 and the event will last to March next year.

Jilin province's latest progress in the winter tourism industry is being showcased at the expo.

A China winter tourism development report for 2017 was released at the opening ceremony, ranking the top Chinese cities and resorts in their competitiveness in winter tourism.

A number of cities, resorts and events in the province were included in the top 10 lists.

For instance, Jilin City, Changchun and Yanbian prefecture were ranked among the top 10 cities and regions for winter tourism.

Three of the province's resorts - Changbai Mountain Wanda International Resort, Vanke Songhua Lake Resort and Beidahu Ski Resort - were rated among the top 10 winter resorts in China.

The Jilin International Rime Ice and Snow Festival, the Chagan Lake Winter Fishing Festival and the Changchun Snow and Ice Tourism Festival - also known as the Jingyuetan International Vasa Ski Festival - were ranked among the most influential winter tourism events in China.

The rankings show that the northeastern province has become one of the top winter tour destinations in the country.

Focus on cooperation

Organizers said that regional cooperation is a highlight of the expo.

During the event, Jilin forged partnerships with several provinces and regions in China.

On Dec 15, Jilin and Heilongjiang launched a cooperation program for building a tourism alliance.

Jilin and neighboring Heilongjiang province - both in northeastern China - are the leaders in China's winter tourism sector.

The authorities of Jilin and Heilongjiang believe the two provinces share similarities in their winter tourism industries. That makes cross-regional cooperation attractive for sharing resources, branding and marketing efficiently.

The alliance is not only based on sharing resources, but is also the result of cultural synergies and personal links between the people of the two northeastern provinces, according to a Jilin official.

The governments of the two provinces agreed to establish regular meetings, to study the market situation and discuss concrete plans to cooperate.

Also on Dec 15, a joint promotional show for Jilin and Heilongjiang opened at the expo.

The show displays major winter attractions from the two provinces, using videos and pictures.

There are vivid exhibitions of snow and ice sculptures featured from the capital cities of Harbin and Changchun; snow-decorated villages from both provinces; the frozen lakes and waterfalls of Changbai Mountains in Jilin; the hot springs resorts scattered in the Changbai and Greater Xing'an mountains; and China's best ski resorts which are in the two provinces.

While winter fishing on Chagan Lake in western Jilin has already been popularized, through the China Central Television documentary A Bite of China, a similar story is also told about Jingpo Lake in Heilongjiang during the promotional show.

During the event, the two provinces also launched five inter-regional routes for winter tours.

Jilin had already began its partnership plans with other regions before the expo.

On Dec 14, a chartered plane carrying more than 160 tourists from Zhejiang province arrived in Changchun.

It carried the first batch of tourists, under a 10-million tourist exchange program between the two provinces. The agreement for the program, which was signed in September, also covers such areas as personnel training and promotions.

Rime festival

The second China (Jilin) International Snow and Ice Tourism Industry Expo takes place along with the Jilin International Rime Ice and Snow Festival, which opened on Dec 1 and will last to Feb 28, 2018.

The city of Jilin is known for its spectacular rime in winter.

Rime, also known as wusong, is a kind of frost that appears on trees in the winter. It can be frequently seen on both banks of the Songhua River after a sudden temperature drop, as this unusual phenomenon is the result of interaction between the cold air and warm vapors from the river.

The beautiful rime in Jilin City is regarded as one of China's four natural wonders - along with the landscape of mountains and waters in Guilin, the Stone Forest in Yunnan and the Three Gorges along the Yangtze River.