Renowned experts and industry leaders shared their views on reasons behind Harbin's tourism popularity and its development plans at Xinhuanet Thinker Forum, which was held on Feb 27 in the northeastern city Harbin.   

Zheng Chengjun, a member of the standing committee of the CPC Committee of Beijing International Studies University (BISU) and vice-president of the university, pointed out in his speech that Harbin has done a great job in connecting ordinary people with the ice and snow, locals with tourists, government with citizens, demand side with industrial chain, as well as people with social media.

He suggested that it is important to optimize relations of production to continue to motivate the local enterprises. Continuous efforts in social media operation are also needed. Harbin's advantage as "City of Music" should also be leveraged, Zheng mentioned in his speech.

Zheng praises Harbin's tourism hit.

Li Xinjian, professor at School of Tourism Sciences at BISU and executive president of Beijing Institute of Culture and Tourism Development, pointed out that Harbin needs to enhance the comfort of foreigners in terms of language and payment to become an international tourist city. Visa-free entry policies will be helpful and it is also important to tell the local story well. 

Li gives suggestions to Harbin's tourism development.

Zhang Qixiang, mayor of Harbin, expressed his willingness in his speech to discuss with renowned experts about high-quality development of Harbin's ice and snow tourism and economy.

Zhang welcomes the experts and entrepreneurs to Harbin.

Chu Xuejun, chairman of Xinhuanet, pointed out that Harbin should continue to promote the integration of natural beauty with cultural creativity and the fusion of virtual and real scenarios through technology, in order to drive the tourism popularity of the entire Northeast China.

He said that Xinhua News Agency is willing to provide more intellectual support for the Northeast region to embark on a path of high-quality growth and sustainable revitalization.

Chu delivers an opening speech.

In his keynote speech, Ma Li, deputy director of the industry development department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, pointed out that the tourism hit in Harbin illustrates that only through continuous innovation can we stimulate new consumer momentum in cultural tourism.

Ma also suggested that it is necessary to consider the supply of high-quality products in summer and to capitalize on this momentum, allowing visitors to enjoy both ice and snow in winter and cool off in summer.

Ma shares his opinions at the forum.

During the forum, Zheng communicated with those from Xinhua News Agency and local government officials, reaching a preliminary cooperation intention.

Xinhuanet Thinker, as an important component of the national high-end think tank of Xinhua News Agency, has continuously held the Xinhuanet Thinker Annual Conference in Beijing, Hainan, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and other places since 2014, establishing a high-end dialogue platform.