"Ice City", the world's largest winter theme park

The 27th edition of the world's largest winter theme park, Ice & Snow World, will open to the public today in Harbin, the capital of northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province, nicknamed "the city of ice", Xinhua news agency reported. The park covers a record 1.2 million square meters this year and was made with about 400,000 cubic meters of ice and snow, consolidating its status as the largest attraction of its kind in the world. The theme of this year's edition is "Ice and Snow, a Fairytale World", and the artistic concept is highlighted through three main landscape axes, a large-scale thematic parade, an open-air stage and a new installation covering an area of 5,000 square meters. The organizers have also integrated advanced technological elements, such as smart lighting systems and interaction applications based on artificial intelligence, designed to offer visitors an immersive experience. Numerous events are scheduled during the park's operation, including the opening ceremony of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, international ice sculpture competitions, snow football and hockey matches, as well as a special concert organized on New Year's Eve. In addition to Ice & Snow World, local authorities are promoting two other major winter destinations in Harbin: the Sun Island Snow Expo, which covers an area of 1.5 million square meters, and the Ice and Snow Carnival, set up along the frozen Songhua River, where visitors can admire about 260 ice sculptures and participate in more than 60 entertainment projects dedicated to the cold season.