Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Roundtable.
How can large sports events such as the ongoing Asian Winter Games better integrate with local tourism to create a lasting impact on regional economies?
And whether you're visiting museums or popular tourist spots in China, fridge magnets have outpaced everything.
Canvas bags, notebooks, and postcards in claiming the title of the ultimate souvenir.
We discuss what fuels this magnet mania.
Coming to you live from Beijing, this is Roundtable.
I'm He Yang. For today's program, I'm joined by Steve Hatherly and Yuxin in the studio.
First on today's show, the ninth.
Asian Winter Games have boosted Harbin's status as a premier ice and snow tourism destination.
Harbin, the capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang province, has been known to the Chinese people as a top destination of winter tourism.
Now, the games have put the city on the global map, showcasing its potential to seamlessly integrate winter sports with tourism.
So let's take a look at what's going on now.
Now, apparently sports events, it does boost local tourism and economy, especially when you've got this big winter sports event going on in town.
So first of all, we know that the Asian Winter Games in Harbin is happening from 7th to 14th February this year.
And with this multi -sport event as well as many other ice and snow activities, the local ice and snow tourism has been heated up again.
And actually this situation reminded me of the concept of 300 million people participating ice and snow activities during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
I think the situation right now we're seeing is actually, I think it is bringing me the same vibe that people are joining all of these ice and snow activities.
Yeah, nice. It's a big deal.
Have you been watching any of the events?
Oh, yes. It's quite exciting.
Yeah, what were you watching, by the way?
The speed skating, of course.
Oh, okay. Yeah, China's doing quite well in the speed skating.
I watched China and Japan play an ice hockey game on TV, which was a lot of fun to watch.
Yeah, you're right.
There's a vibe. And we're not even in Harbin here in our studio, but we still feel that vibe.
And you're right, it does help out with tourism, because when you have an event that big, then people want to go and check it out.
But there's also the Harbin Ice and Snow World that officially opened on December 21st of 2024.
And as of the 26th day of January in 2025, they had received over 2 million visitors.
That's an impressive number, isn't it?
The Yabuli Ski Resort, which is a venue for the snow sports event for the Winter Games, which is a couple of hundred kilometers south of Harbin, I believe.
They have seen a large number of tourists and increased by about 20 % year on year.
So we already see evidence that the event is bringing a lot of people there.
I actually kind of understand how wonderful that could be.
We know that the opening ceremony happened in a conference center also in this place that you mentioned harbing ice and snow world.
And I saw a video, people luckily, you know, experiencing the ice light when all of the fireworks were happening back then.
Yeah, that was so wonderful.
And that is also one of the activities that people will love to go in this ice and snow world.
So, you know, with all of these activities and videos coming up on social media, I think people would like to go there and experience this magic of snow and ice.
And also just can I help to paint the picture of the ice and snow world?
Because I can't show you a picture right now, which is a bummer.
But try to imagine that this is literally like a winter wonderland.
And especially during nighttime, when all the lights are on, it's colorful.
It's like fairy tale.
And during daytime, of course, you know, I mean, it's huge.
there are lots of sculptures and slides and all kinds of uh uh infrastructure there that's all in white but you know at nighttime it's completely different and it's become sort of the postcard view of harbin in recent years and the place is massive it can well not accommodate but it can welcome um tens
of thousands of people if when it gets that popular so yeah harbin has plenty to offer i bet there are people who went to the ice and snow world and realized oh the asian winter games are happening now and also people who went to the asian winter games oh there's a massive ice and snow world here so it
just works for for everyone i think yeah there's a there's a big development in the region just for ice and snow events or activities too?
Especially, I think, during this Chinese New Year period, you know, I was thinking about it, you know, snow activities, it will become even more popular.
There is an old saying, old Chinese saying that a timely snow brings a good harvest, and Chinese, is 瑞雪照风年 It's always have that kind of good symbol of having snow in the winter which means you will have a better harvest to next year So these kind of vibrant red elements of the spring festival combined
with the white snow look especially beautiful and with this ice and snow world is happening right now I think people will love to join and this is a good opportunity for this local government and officials to actually welcome the people, not only from China, from people all around the world.
And can I also just highlight one fact that within Harbin and that region, basically you're looking at temperature that's always below 10 to 20 degrees centigrade during winter time during these couple of months.
And therefore, ice and snow is everywhere.
and it just makes so much sense to organize events based on that significant natural advantage that you have 100 true and the director of the mass sports department of the province the sports bureau of the province said that these events held on mass they show diversified and explosive growth during this particular
snow season they're expected to be more than 500 ice and snow events at the county and district level or above in the province, and 250 ,000 people are expected to directly participate, and then an indirect participation of about 7 million people.
Not everyone wants to go down the ice slide, I suppose, but that's an increase of about 20 % compared to the previous snow season.
So more people, bigger numbers this time around.
Yes, indeed. And we're seeing that the local departments, operators, and businesses So basically everybody there who has the potential to tap into this market, they have been getting ready for this big moment.
So tell me, you know, what have the related entities done to improve the whole travel experience over there?
Yeah, first of all, I think they improved accommodation facilities, of course.
Lee Quanwei, deputy director of Harbing Yabuli Management Committee.
We know that Yabuli is also another venue for these Asian Winter Games.
He stated that the local authorities seized the opportunity of the Asian Winter Games to promote the upgrading of venue snow trails, renovation of hotel facilities, and also infrastructure construction.
The number of guest rooms has increased from 1 ,500 to more than 2 ,400.
And the number of the beds has reached more than 5 ,000, which is significantly improving its reception capacity.
Yeah, it's a lot more places for people to stay.
And if you're going to have more people coming, they need to sleep somewhere.
So that's an important piece of progression.
Also, they built a lot more.
And I love this because growing up in Canada, I skated on outdoor ice rinks.
They built 80, more than 80, as a matter of fact, outdoor public ice rinks for this winter.
It's a different vibe.
I don't know if you've ever had the opportunity.
I've skated indoors, of course, but also outdoors.
And it's just a different feel when you're skating outside in nature and the breeze is flowing against your skin and the bite when you breathe in.
Your nostrils kind of stick to your nose a little bit.
It's just a different feeling, and it's really cool.
So they did that. They also have four off -road skiing experience routes on both sides of the Songhua River there.
And that really highlights, I guess, the elements of the games themselves and the overall theme of ice and snow.
And it just adds to that atmosphere, that vibe that you were talking about that already exists there in Harbin.
Also, as we are talking about this vibe, I think the whole, you know, spirit or hospitality atmosphere has like basically everywhere in Harbin.
And I've seen many like quite funny videos online, you know, because the officials are trying to promote or call on all of these retailers to be as welcoming as possible to all of these tourists in Harbin.
So with Harbin's booming popularity, so industries such as catering, accommodation, transportation and also retail have also benefited.
And, you know, we know that Northeastern people are generally known for their bold and straightforward personality.
Oh, is that true? I've not learned that yet.
And also... That's kind of a stereotype, I would say.
To go further down that unfortunate path, we tend to think that Northeastern folks are all -born comedians.
Funny personalities, huh?
They have this slight—it's more of an accent than a dialect, as opposed to the普通话, the standard Mandarin that we speak at work and here in Beijing.
And therefore, there's this comedic value to it.
And sometimes, you know, once I was in Beijing and then there was this Dongbei folk or this person from northeastern China, obvious through the tones, the accent.
And he was just asking for direction.
But immediately I started laughing.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
But it was good. But anyway, what I want to say was, you know, to cater to the needs of southern tourists or international tourists, they have introduced many customized services for their tourists.
These include some things like intricately carved frozen pears, which is a local delicacy, but local people never sing in to be carved.
So carved into... Like different shapes or flowers or something like that.
Oh, that's cute. Yeah, and also roasted sweet potatoes with spoons.
People just eat it like...
With their hands. With their hands, but never with spoons.
So they offer... That makes sense.
Very, you know... Innovative.
Yes, these kind of measures.
Also, taxi drivers speaking in a very gentle manner to their passengers.
They should be, you know, all with the funny tones and being all like brass, but also humor out of good nature.
I kind of agree with you because it's part of the local culture, right?
It's part of what makes that region so special.
But, yeah, I understand.
They're trying to cater to the tourists who are coming in, both domestic tourists and international tourists, I guess.
And some people, I mean, local people are even saying that, oh, I don't even know you Harbing.
I've never seen you being like this.
So this is also another like fun fact that we can see recently here or there in Harbing.
There's also cooperation amongst some different scenic spots, which I think is quite cool.
The Secretary General of the Culture and Tourism Standardization Technical Committee of Heilongjiang province.
That's a long title, said that Harbin became really popular back in 2023, and the entire cultural and tourism system has formed kind of an overall perspective.
For example, the transportation from scenic spot to another scenic spot, it's become faster.
It's become more convenient, and that's opened up a lot of different tourist routes that connect different places that people could potentially go.
And also the communication between different scenic spots as well.
So that's one of the developments that they've made in the region that's really helped develop tourism and made things more convenient for tourists.
Yeah, it's interesting that 2023 seems to be like a watershed moment for Harbin.
And yes, who's then?
Suddenly, the city's been taught so much about over social media, and this doesn't happen for just any place, I feel.
And also in China, considering how vast and diverse this country is, this is once in a lifetime opportunity for Harbin.
And you can see that the city has pulled out all the stops just so that they can seize this opportunity.
And it's really promising to see them riding the possibility, the popularity wave.
And thanks to the Asian Winter Games, it seems like they can stay in the limelight a bit longer.
Yeah, and it's great for the region because this is something that they can offer, pardon me, that other parts of the country in the southern part can't offer.
We have the same thing in Canada.
Winter tourism is incredibly important to Canada's economy.
We have millions of people that visit the country spending millions, if not billions, of dollars into the local economies where they go.
And if you look at places like, oh, in Alberta, that's one of our provinces, they have world -class ski resorts there and that's what they are known for.
And people travel from other parts of the world specifically for that.
And then there's a trickle -down effect.
You know, when they're there, of course, they're spending money at restaurants and things like this.
Taking advantage of the resources that you have, and in this case for Harbin, it's snow and ice, to offer these special things to visitors, it makes them realize how special the place is and it makes them want to come back.
And if I were the director there, I wouldn't tell the taxi drivers to tone down the accent.
I would say, you be you, so that people know exactly why this place is as unique as it is.
So what strategies should host cities consider to marry sports events with tourism or some other element to maximize its appeal?
I think it is kind of a wing wing situation.
Of course, these international big event will bring people and popularity to the tourism industry in the city.
Also, I think the tourism industry will bring some kind of background for the city to host a lot of these big events.
Several top sports events were held in Jilin, which is another region in northeastern province.
It's a neighboring province still within the northeastern part of China.
So, according to a recent China Daily report, the second FIS, or International Ski and Snowboard Federation Snowboard Cross World Cup of the 2024 and 2025 season, was recently held in北大湖 Jilin City in Jilin Province.
And the province also held the Jingyue Tan International Ski Festival at the Jingyue Tan National Scenic Area, Changchun City, this January.
The festival have already driven more than one million participants in ice and snow sports.
Wow, so obviously successful.
And that's great for Harbin too.
When you have neighboring provinces who are also taking advantage of similar resources, then the economy for the region as a whole benefits, not just those individual provinces, even though, of course, they benefit as well.
And if you're thinking about, if I am someone who is this ice and snow sports enthusiast, and maybe you're coming to China or if you're already in China, the northeast part of China is definitely a great place to practice these sports as there's a lot of venues for you to go on the ice rink, to go onto
the snow slide or whatnot.
And also in a different region in China, in Xinjiang, Aletai is a place that has become so popular recently for its skiing.
Powder. Powder snow.
Yes. Ah, yes. Yeah.
Powder skiing is a different thing.
I said skiing outdoors, or sorry, skating outdoors and skating indoors.
Even though it's both skating, it's a different thing.
Same with skiing on natural powder versus skiing on man -made snow.
This is a different experience.
And all skiers will tell you, powder is the best.
Can I just ask, if you fall over, which one is less painful?
It's got to be the powder, right?
Absolutely. It's like falling on a pillow made out of clouds.
But the other one is just hard surface and you could break a bone.
I mean, it's not concrete, but...
Oh, it's not? Powder is better.
Okay, got it. But still, it's quite dangerous.
It's not like that.
You will have a better experience with that powder snow, but still, you need to be careful of falling down.
And that's actually a really good caveat to have.
Because, you know, sometimes when you see people talking about, oh, doing this and that on ice and snow for these sport activities.
But actually, you need to know what you're doing.
Sure. It's not like Joe Schmoe, like myself, who has zero experience, can just go on ice and do anything.
That's a very good point, I guess.
When we're sitting here promoting all these wonderful snow and ice events, it's still important that if you don't have experience doing those things and you try them out, please do be careful.
It's a learning curve for sure.
talking about you know integrating what provinces can do what cities can do to integrate these types of events into future possibilities for tourists one of the things that I think is a great idea is to add local culture into events because when you add local elements for example I don't know like a folk performance
or an intangible cultural heritage exhibition or something like that If you incorporate that into the competitions, then you really enhance the cultural connotation, you enhance the appeal, and again, you give people the flavor, the local flavor of what that place is all about, and that can only add
to their memories and the possibilities of them returning.
And also, I was thinking building sports event brand is quite important in this case, you know, continuously host influential ice and snow events to build an internationally renowned event brand and enhance the regional image as an ice and snow tourist destination is the way that, you know, this place
to develop a kind of a brand.
As you said, that area in your country is actually famous for being the skiing destination.
As we mentioned, El Tei is, I think, quite in this kind of direction.
A recent Xinhua report saying that the second edition of Winter Games around El Tei Mountains also kicked off this January in El Tei City, which is in northwest China's Xinjiang -Uyghur Tiananmen region.
And the other advantage too, and I didn't mention this when I was talking about Banff, Alberta, the place before, that area in Canada creates a lot of job opportunities for Canadians.
So when these regions become popular for snow and ice and we have a lot of tourists coming in there, it's creating jobs too.
And now that we're talking about, and since you just talked about, oh, be careful if you're trying these things for the first time, I didn't think about that.
But ice and snow sports can be intimidating for people who haven't tried them before.
You know, the idea of snowboarding down a cliffside of a mountain is, if you've never done it before, is terrifying.
So perhaps, sorry to interrupt, perhaps having events, fun sports events to attract people who have never done these types of things before, those types of mass events to introduce people to the sports, that might be a good idea, too.
Yeah, I was trying to echo you back.
When I was snowboarding, I was literally flying.
But actually, from another angle, third perspective, I was just walking like a nanny.
I was really slow. But from your own perspective, it's quite fast.
Right. And also, apparently, these days in the last couple of years, ice fishing has become something that's very popular during wintertime across the country.
But going to the northeastern part of China, it's so easy to find a nice place, a lake, a river, all frozen up and go drill and fish.
Exactly. Domestic media Ting Tom Tech saying that many tourist attractions, or more specifically farms, offer a kind of, you know, ice fishing package this year.
They offer several different packages ranging from 400 yuan to 700 yuan.
that's about 54 to 100 us dollars the business provides a full set of you know ice fishing equipment including tents of course we'll have a tent on the river and fishing gear also you can enjoy the whole day and having hot pot there and enjoy another or other like you know ice and snow equipments like
a snow slide or something like that you enjoy a whole day there with some these kind of recreational ice and snow equipments so this is becoming another recreational activity for a lot of young people because I saw that Mr.
Ma who is a business owner located near Changbai Mountain which is a famous ski destination they have service like that and they said in previous winters they were close for the season but this year they've made a profit from ice fishing and most of the visitors are young people Yeah, ice fishing is a thing
in Canada too. Not with everybody, of course.
My university roommate, he's from Labrador, which is an area north of Quebec.
So it's pretty far north in Canada.
And I think that's one of his hobbies in the wintertime.
He really loves it.
He says it's so peaceful and calm.
I've never done it myself.
I'm more of a get the fish from the restaurant kind of guy.
Yeah, I can second that.
But it's great to see that there are so many like new leisure activities, sports activities that everybody can join in or with a little bit of guidance and instruction.
And it really gives the local economy a boost, which is always a good thing.
Coming up, we're going to talk about special themed fridge magnets.
Why are they so popular among so many people in this country?
Stay tuned.
