In a bid to enhance bilateral cultural exchanges, the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism commenced on Friday in Harbin, northeast China, coinciding with the grand opening of the city's International Ice and Snow Festival.
Olivia Gregoire, the French Minister Delegate for Tourism, announced the start of the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism.
It is an important event reached under the consensus between the leaders of the two countries on cultural exchanges in 2023.
"It is not by chance that we decided to open this year of cultural and tourism in the beautiful city of Harbin during the ice festival, a big cultural and tourism highlight to which we are proud to be able to contribute," said Olivia Gregoire.
The event coincides with the opening day of Harbin's International Ice and Snow Festival, for which the whole city gets a day off each year.
"We aim to fully unleash the potential of ice and snow and gear up for the 9th Asian Winter Games," said Liang Huiling, Governor of Heilongjiang Province.
Among the glittering ice sculptures in the Harbin Ice and Snow World are two big ones representing the Temple of Heaven in Beijing and the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which are symbols of this culture and tourism year.
2024 marks four decades since Harbin first held its very first ice and snow festival in 1983. This year, the festival expects a record-breaking number of visitors as the city has become one of China's top tourist destinations.