Tourists have a great time on Saturday at the 20th Arxan Ice and Snow Festival in Arxan, Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo by Wang Xiaobo/For chinadaily.com.cn]

The 2025-2026 winter tourism season officially kicked off on Saturday in Arxan, Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, marking the start of a six-month celebration that includes the 20th Arxan Ice and Snow Festival.

The launch followed a winter tourism news conference in the city on Friday, which unveiled five winter activities. The core offering is a "1+6" model of winter routes, integrating snow activities with the city's famous hot springs.

Home to just 30,000 residents, Arxan has become a surprising tourism success story. Official data shows that from January to October, the city received over 6.14 million tourist visits, generating 7.68 billion yuan ($1 billion) in revenue. The figure is equivalent to hosting more than 200 times its population.

Tourists have a great time on Saturday at the 20th Arxan Ice and Snow Festival in Arxan, Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo by Wang Xiaobo/For chinadaily.com.cn]

The city's appeal lies in its pristine ecology, featuring 95 percent forest coverage, volcanic crater lakes, mineral spring clusters, and vast snowscapes. However, it has a long winter (October to May), and tourism used to become rather quiet outside of summer.

By capitalizing on ice and snow tourism, Arxan is changing that reality.

This season, the city is focusing on its unique resources like ice-snow tourism, hot spring wellness, and forest culture.

Enhanced transportation access supports this effort, with 18 winter air routes directly linking cities like Beijing and Shanghai, and a railway network covering major urban centers in North and Northeast China.

Tourists have a great time on Saturday at the 20th Arxan Ice and Snow Festival in Arxan, Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo by Wang Xiaobo/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Tourists have a great time on Saturday at the 20th Arxan Ice and Snow Festival in Arxan, Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo by Wang Xiaobo/For chinadaily.com.cn]