HARBIN — As mayors from around the world jointly lit a torch to mark the opening of a dialogue event in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, they also ignited a shared vision for developing the ice and snow economy and advancing cooperation among global winter cities.

Held from Jan 6-8, the Global Mayors Dialogue brought together mayors and representatives from nations including Canada, Finland and the Republic of Korea to Harbin, hailed as China's "Ice City".

During the three-day event, delegates visited major city landmarks such as the century-old Central Street and Harbin Ice and Snow World — the world's largest ice and snow theme park, where the 42nd Ice and Snow Festival opened on Jan 5 — gaining a first-hand experience of how the city is turning severe cold into gold.

Andrew Knack, mayor of Edmonton in Canada, which has maintained a sister-city relationship with Harbin for over 40 years, said that the annual ice and snow festival has injected strong impetus into Harbin's tourism.

"This is something that I could have never imagined and the scope and the scale of what's been created here is truly a wonder. It's a profound privilege to be here to experience this and see just what has been created now," he said.

His views were echoed by Nam Dong-gyeong, vice-mayor of Bucheon in the ROK, also a sister city of Harbin. Nam noted that Harbin's ice and snow festival is far more than a simple cultural celebration — it's a great example of how unique festivals can boost the ice and snow economy.

Both Knack and Nam said decades of sister-city cooperation with Harbin has yielded fruitful results in trade, education, culture and tourism, and expressed their hopes for deeper cooperation in the future.

On his sixth visit to Harbin, Heikki Kontiosalo, deputy speaker of the city council of Rovaniemi in Finland, expressed his continued amazement at the city's ever-prospering ice and snow economy.

Kontiosalo said Rovaniemi, located within the Arctic Circle and known as the hometown of Santa Claus, has a long snow season. This opens up lots of opportunities for the city to grow its winter tourism and help boost the economy in other ways, too.

He expressed hope of strengthening cooperation with Harbin in areas including ice and snow technology, winter sports and related equipment.

Coinciding with the dialogue event, the inaugural Harbin International Ice and Snow Expo took place in Harbin from Jan 6 to 8. Advanced ice and snow equipment, including industrial-grade unmanned snow-removal machines, snowmobiles and carbon fiber skis, was displayed, offering opportunities for international investment and cooperation.

So far, Harbin has established sister-city ties with 37 cities in 28 countries.

"Harbin has always embraced the world with an open attitude," said Li Mian, the city's executive vice-mayor. He also highlighted the Global Mayors Dialogue's role as a bridge for sharing development experience and promoting cooperation in the ice and snow economy.

As the origin of modern winter sports in China, the city recorded a total ice and snow economic output exceeding 160 billion yuan ($22.98 billion) in 2024, accounting for about one-sixth of the national total, official data show.

China is positioning the ice and snow economy as a major driver of development and consumption, and its scale is expected to reach 1.2 trillion yuan by 2027 and 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030.

A report from the China Tourism Academy shows that the country's ice and snow economy exceeded a scale of 1 trillion yuan in 2025, with more than 14,000 tourism-related ice and snow enterprises operating nationwide.

Xinhua