作者： admin

HARBIN—The annual ice harvesting ceremony commenced on the frozen expanse of the Songhua River this Sunday, heralding the beginning of Harbin’s vibrant winter tourism season. Dozens of workers, clad in traditional red cotton coats, meticulously carved and extracted glistening ice slabs from the river’s surface using metal chisels and iron poles. These blocks, prized for their remarkable clarity and uniform density, measure approximately 1.6 meters in length and 0.8 meters in width.

The harvested ice will serve as the foundational material for the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the planet’s largest ice and snow theme park. This year’s edition promises unprecedented scale, spanning 1.2 million square meters and utilizing 400,000 cubic meters of ice and snow. According to Sun Zemin, deputy director of marketing at Harbin Ice-Snow World Park Co., Ltd., the park will introduce innovative attractions including hot spring camps, cross-country skiing tracks, and themed parades.

The timing of the harvest coincides with Daxue, or Major Snow, a traditional Chinese solar term indicating the arrival of deep winter. Meteorological experts confirm that river ice typically reaches optimal harvesting thickness of over 30 centimeters during this period.

The event attracted substantial crowds of local residents and international tourists, including Russian student Alina Dorokhina, who described the ceremony as “stunning” and noted the warmth and vitality of Harbin’s folk traditions despite the cold environment.

Harbin’s winter tourism strategy has generated remarkable economic returns. Last winter, the city welcomed 90.35 million visitors, generating 137.22 billion yuan (approximately $19.4 billion) in revenue—a 16.6% year-on-year increase. Wang Hongxin, director of Harbin’s culture, radio, television, and tourism department, emphasized plans to integrate ice and snow with educational tours, sports, and technology to enhance the city’s appeal as a premier winter destination.

This development aligns with China’s national strategy to expand its ice-and-snow economy, targeting 1.2 trillion yuan by 2027 and 1.5 trillion yuan by 2030. The northeastern region, historically known as China’s rustbelt, is experiencing revitalization through winter tourism. Heilongjiang province alone reported a 266.17 billion yuan ice-and-snow market in 2024, with tourism contributing 182.33 billion yuan.

Chinese authorities have mobilized an emergency response team to northwest China’s Xinjiang region following a series of devastating highway collisions that resulted in multiple casualties. The incident occurred Saturday evening around 10 p.m. local time along an expressway in Usu City, located within Tacheng Prefecture, where rapidly deteriorating weather conditions triggered a chain-reaction accident involving twelve vehicles.

The catastrophic event unfolded as sudden, dense fog combined with sub-zero temperatures created dangerously icy road surfaces within minutes. The resulting low visibility and slippery conditions led to sequential impacts involving five large commercial vehicles and seven passenger cars traveling along the affected highway segments.

China’s Ministry of Emergency Management confirmed the dispatch of a specialized working group to coordinate rescue operations and provide on-site support. Official reports indicate the collisions resulted in nine fatalities and seven individuals sustaining injuries of varying severity.

Emergency management officials have emphasized the implementation of scientifically organized rescue protocols to prevent secondary accidents while prioritizing medical treatment for the injured. The ministry has additionally called for a comprehensive investigation to determine the exact sequence of events and identify contributing factors to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

Local authorities continue to manage the aftermath of the incident while examining regional highway safety protocols, particularly regarding rapid weather changes in the area’s challenging winter conditions.

HONG KONG – Sophisticated emergency equipment supplied by China’s Central Government has dramatically enhanced operational capabilities during the extensive recovery efforts following the devastating Tai Po fire, according to Hong Kong police authorities.

The substantial logistical support, coordinated through the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, delivered multiple consignments of specialized rescue gear and medical resources to assist local emergency teams. This intervention provided critical technical reinforcement during one of Hong Kong’s most challenging rescue operations in recent history.

Police Operations Director Lui Kam-ho expressed profound gratitude for the central authorities’ swift response, revealing that mainland agencies had supplied over 30,000 essential items. The shipment included advanced tactical equipment such as professional-grade illumination systems, protective goggles, emergency shelters, and state-of-the-art exoskeleton mechanical suits designed for demanding physical tasks.

Frontline responders faced exceptionally hazardous conditions within the fire-affected structures, where complete power failure had plunged the interior into absolute darkness while significant flooding complicated movement through the debris. Rescue personnel specifically highlighted the exoskeleton technology and high-intensity lighting systems as particularly transformative, enabling extended operational periods in otherwise prohibitive environments.

Beyond the tangible operational benefits, Director Lui emphasized the profound psychological impact of the support, noting that the equipment shipment simultaneously boosted morale among exhausted rescue teams while demonstrating the mainland population’s solidarity with Hong Kong citizens during the crisis.

The Hong Kong Police Force continues to lead ongoing recovery and investigative operations at the Tai Po site, where systematic evidence collection and structural assessments remain underway following the tragic incident.