[Beijing Diary] If You Ride the Wave of China's Tourism Boom

Harbin, a city with a population of 10 million in Heilongjiang Province, China, has recently become a hot topic as one of China's most popular tourist destinations. Despite the cold weather ranging from minus 20 to 30 degrees Celsius, crowds flock to enjoy the Ice Lantern Festival, which spans an area 113 times the size of a soccer field (about 810,000㎡). Drawing nearly one million tourists a day, Harbin has become the coldest yet hottest city in China.

Long before the Ice Lantern Festival opened on January 5, the media eagerly promoted Harbin, continuously introducing major tourist attractions and local delicacies. Although China's consumption is sluggish and economic growth is not what it used to be, the tourism market has been unusually lively since last year, the first year of zero-COVID policy. In particular, travel bookings to Harbin during the Lunar New Year period surged 14 times compared to the previous year. From January 1 to 3, just before the festival's opening, 30.479 million people spent 5.914 billion yuan (about 1.0982 trillion KRW).

[Image source= Xinhua News Agency]

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[Image source= Xinhua News Agency]

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The Ice Lantern Festival first opened in 1963 and has continued for over 60 years, with Harbin remaining consistently cold and featuring similar landscapes. The only noticeable change is the Chinese people's growing interest and passion for tourism, a theory that holds considerable weight. The sense of liberation after three years of zero-COVID and the rise of social networking services (SNS) in recent years have fueled this travel frenzy.

Visiting Harbin last weekend confirmed that the reports by Chinese media were not exaggerated. From small-statured southern residents nicknamed 'Little Potato' and 'Little Bean' to groups of children in orange vests affectionately called 'Candy Tangerines,' the Ice Lantern Festival site, Central Avenue, Sophia Cathedral, and other famous tourist spots were packed. All well-known restaurants were fully booked. Shopping malls were crowded with visitors, and paid ice sledding venues set up around the city had long lines.

On the 26th of last month, a long queue formed at the entrance of the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival in China. (Photo by Kim Hyunjung)

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[Image source= Xinhua News Agency]

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After passing through the star-studded tourist city and returning to Beijing, there is hope that this enthusiasm could open opportunities for both Korea and China. Round-trip airfare between Beijing and Harbin costs around 300,000 KRW, which is not much different from the cost of traveling to Seoul. According to a recent survey, about 30% of travelers planning to visit Harbin intend to spend 5,000 to 10,000 yuan locally, and over 20% plan to spend 10,000 to 20,000 yuan. If there is an incentive, it might be possible to attract these tourists to Korea as well. In fact, Yanji in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, close to Harbin, is also emerging as a popular travel destination. One of its famous photo spots is in front of Dashecheng, where many Korean signs are displayed. This shows a clear interest and curiosity about traveling to Korea.

For Korean tourists, neighboring domestic cities like Harbin or Hainan, where they can experience extreme cold or winter heat, can be attractive. If temporary mutual visa exemptions are implemented to lower travel barriers during seasonal tourism seasons, considerable opportunities may open up. Of course, from the perspective of emphasizing the need and importance of understanding China, there are other intentions as well. Since the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) incident in 2016, emotional barriers, and since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, physical barriers have cut off exchanges between ordinary people in Korea and China. If the tourism boom can serve as a bridge to create opportunities for mutual understanding between the two countries, it would be ideal.

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