Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
Hohhot, November 18 (Xinhua) — "Bathing in a warm natural hot spring at minus 20 degrees Celsius, you'll look up and see a bright starry sky and snow-covered forests and plains. It's like something out of a children's fairy tale!" Russian tourist Anna Ivanova told Xinhua News Agency.
Last weekend, a Russian woman visited the county-level city of Arshan in the Khingan Province (Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China) for the first time and attended the opening ceremony of the 20th Arshan Ice and Snow Festival.
The permanent population of Arshan, a city bordering Mongolia, barely exceeds 30,000. It administers an area of nearly 7,400 square kilometers, home to one global geopark, two national forest parks, and three national wetland parks.
Compared to previous years, this year's ice and snow festival attracted more tourists from Russia.
In Arshan, winter lasts about seven months, 182 of which are covered in snow. "Winters are long in my homeland, too, but here in Arshan, tourists can participate in a wider variety of winter-related activities," said a man named Ivanov.
Since 2005, when the Arshan International Ice and Snow Festival first took place, the city's tourism industry has transformed from simple sightseeing trips to a cultural tourism model that combines ice, snow, sports, hot springs, ethnic flavor, and healthcare.
Thanks to its tourism resources and commitment to openness, Arshan is becoming a new popular destination for exchanges and cooperation in cultural tourism between China and Russia.
According to Russian tourist Dmitry Sokolov, the water quality in the local hot springs is very good; after a dip, you feel refreshed and warmed. For Russians, a quality winter vacation requires not only beautiful snowy landscapes like those in Arshan, but also hot springs that relieve fatigue. Here, these two elements combine beautifully, he adds.
Russian tourists are attracted not only by the country's magnificent natural beauty but also by its increasingly open policy on cross-border tourism. This year, at the Ice and Snow Festival, a document was officially signed launching a cross-border cooperation mechanism for the China-Mongolia-Russia-Republic of Korea Golden Tourism Lines, paving the way for the development of more convenient and diverse cross-border tourism products.
Alexander Petrov, a member of the Russian tour group, declared Arshan to be an ideal destination for cross-border tourism and promised to recommend it to his friends. He expressed confidence that Arshan would become an even more popular tourist destination among Russians.
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