Unexpectedly, in this winter, Harbin, the coldest city, has become the hottest tourist destination. This cultural tourism craze not only attracted countless southerners and foreigners, but also triggered an Internet carnival that made people laugh. Even Harbin is no longer Harbin, but is affectionately called "Erbin". Netizens said, "This time, Harbin will take back everything it lost."
△Harbin Ice and Snow World
is interesting in the first half of the year, and feels like home in the second half. From Nanjing, which is always a must-visit in the spring, to Zibo, where the aroma of barbecue lingers all summer, to Harbin, a "pleasant city" that favors southerners, this year's cultural and tourism hot spots are endless, each with its own merits.
How did Harbin catch this "tremendous wealth"? A reporter from Modern Express interviewed Shao Yingping, general manager of Jiangsu Jianggong Yingguo Planning Co., Ltd., chairman of Jiangsu Yangtze River Innovative Urban Research Institute, and head of Nanjing Cultural Tourism Innovation Integration Research Doctoral Workstation.
△Shao Yingping
What did Harbin do right this time?
Hot air balloons fly in the world of ice and snow, hovercrafts run on the Songhua River, an artificial moon rises in Sophia Church, carpets are laid out on Central Street, and even the Oroqen people spontaneously come to Central Street to perform reindeer performances... In Harbin this winter, Let the locals call it "feeling strange". Many local netizens commented that they have never seen such fun things in Harbin for more than 30 years.
△The artificial moon of Sophia Church Source: CCTV News
The emergence of these "big moves" is to welcome the countless "little potatoes" coming from the south. In order to let these "little southern potatoes" have a comfortable time, Harbin can be said to be "responsive to all requests" - they have warmly welcomed them all the way from the airport, moved the concert into the shopping mall, set up a warm station in the square, and even penguins and ostriches On the street, there were 185 handsome men pouring brown sugar water. Netizens commented: "With two guests at home, everything is really improved."
△ Warm Station on the Square Picture source: CCTV News
"Harbin's success is contributed by many factors." Shao Yingping told the Modern Express reporter that first of all, Harbin has a deep understanding of the value and significance of cultural tourism to the city, from the top-level design and system In terms of planning, they are actively exploring effective ways for cultural tourism innovation to drive the transformation of urban economic structure and the revitalization of Northeast China in the new era.
△Secretary and Director of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Heilongjiang Province responded to Harbin’s outing
On January 2, He Jing, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Heilongjiang Province, said in an interview with CCTV News that Harbin’s popularity is actually not accidental. , has been preparing for a year.
According to big data calculations provided by the Harbin Municipal Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, as of the third day of the New Year's Day holiday, Harbin has received a total of 3.0479 million tourists and achieved a total tourism revenue of 5.914 billion yuan.
For a time, the entry "6 billion in three days" became a hot search topic, with 200 million views. What is this concept? Using Harbin's GDP data of 549.01 billion yuan for the whole year of 2022 as an analogy, it is equivalent to nearly 1% of the GDP in three days.
△"Little Sugar Orange" and "Taoxue Penguin" are in the same frame
"Secondly, we joke that Harbin is a 'pleasant city', but in fact it fully respects the actual needs of tourists and users." Shao Yingping said that people hope Looking for the fun of travel in the midst of fast-paced and high-intensity work, you will pay more attention to immersive and atmospheric travel experiences such as healing, curiosity, and adventure, and Harbin knows how to satisfy these "emotional values." From the interaction between Siberian tigers, snow foxes and tourists, to the frozen pear presentation and coffee, as well as the close attention to the 11 "small sugar oranges", Harbin allows tourists to see the sincere Northeast, and at the same time makes tourists feel that they are being treated favorably , has been taken seriously, and its biggest attraction to tourists has also changed from relying on the resource advantage of flying snow to now relying on the city's enthusiastic service advantage.
After Harbin became popular, it actually boosted the overall city brand and image of Northeast China. Many Harbin citizens voluntarily solicit tourists for free to provide convenience for tourists; everyone even collectively learned the "clip sound" just to favor the "little southern potatoes".Shao Yingping pointed out that sincerity alone is not enough. Erbin’s emergence this time is largely due to the courage to face up to the shortcomings of the original cultural tourism products and services and to make targeted adjustments and improvements. Really use actions to prove that "Erbin is worth it".
"In the past few years, the Northeast was exposed to the "Suexiang rip-off" incident, which caused a hit to the Xuexiang tourism industry. In addition, not long ago, the Ice and Snow World encountered a "refund incident". People were wary of Northeast tourism in the past. , worried about being ripped off and blacklisted, and everything Harbin has done is slowly breaking these stereotypes." Shao Yingping said.
△Apology letter from Harbin Ice and Snow World
For example, in the face of the word-of-mouth crisis of Ice and Snow World, Harbin implemented a coherent combination of "apology, rectification, and refund" and quickly regained the favor of tourists. The Harbin government even issued a "Letter to the People of the City", calling on citizens to be hosts and reflect the warmth of the city of ice and snow.
△A letter from Harbin to the people of the city
“Another point that cannot be ignored is that we can almost call Harbin’s emergence from the circle a national carnival. I am afraid that there is no other place in the country that has more Internet marketing than Northeast China. With the advantages of talent base and collective atmosphere, veterans frequently search for new memes. Everyone is a joker and marketer. This natural sense of humor is innate and does not need to be cultivated. It is the deep love of the Northeast people for their hometown. It has fully infected the people across the country. To a certain extent, traveling to Harbin can also contribute to the revitalization of Northeast China. This feeling of family and country is deeply sympathized with." Shao Yingping saw that many Internet celebrity bloggers became popular in Harbin. After that, he temporarily stopped selling goods and spared no effort to promote his hometown through the live broadcast room.
"One thing that touches me is that a local blogger said that the economy in Northeast China has continued to decline in recent years and the population has been severely lost. It has been a long time since I saw such a prosperous Harbin. In fact, which young person is willing to leave his hometown? We call cultural tourism a happy industry because it has a long industrial chain, wide radiation coverage, low employment thresholds, strong joint effects, and can create a large number of jobs and consumption. The bustling Harbin during the New Year's Day allowed people to see the vitality of the city again. ”
After winter is over, can Harbin still maintain its heat?
Ice and snow give Harbin its unique urban charm and become its unique tourism resource. This year, Harbin Ice and Snow World successfully challenged the Guinness World Record and won the title of "the world's largest ice and snow theme park" with a park area of 810,000 square meters.
△Harbin Ice and Snow World won the Guinness World Record title of "the world's largest ice and snow theme park" Source: Harbin Culture and Tourism
So when winter is over, how long can Harbin's tourism popularity last?
In Shao Yingping’s eyes, the answer to this question lies not only in what kind of surprises Harbin can give tourists, but also in whether we understand Harbin well enough. "This time's popularity is a window that allows tourists to enter Harbin, and after entering, you will find that it is actually a treasure city. I would like to use the word 'Pearl covered with dust' to describe the previous Harbin. It has very rich The cultural and tourism resources make it a destination city that is seriously underestimated."
△"Music City" Harbin
Modern Express reporter learned that Harbin is a "European city", and Central Street is known as the "Architectural Museum of All Nations"; it is also "Ice City Summer Capital", Sun Island is China's only urban center river floodplain wetland landscape; at the same time, Harbin is also the only city in Asia awarded "Music City" by UNESCO. "Harbin Summer Concert" is China's only city center. The oldest urban music festival.
△Big Snowman in Qunli Music Park Source: Harbin Cultural Tourism
Harbin is actually known as the "City of Olympic Champions". On July 8 last year, the General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia announced that the host city of the 9th Asian Winter Games in 2025 would be Harbin, and Harbin once again became the host city of the Asian Winter Games.
"In addition, Harbin is a central city in Northeast Asia and is known as the 'Little Paris of the East' and the 'Moscow of the East'. It has a splendid history and religious architectural heritage, a blend of Chinese and Russian cultures, and a rich international flavor. When inbound tourism is fully restored, Finally, Harbin also has a vast international tourist market in Northeast Asia; as a national historical and cultural city, Harbin is the birthplace of the Jin and Qing dynasties, and is home to 47 ethnic minorities. Their catering, accommodation, clothing, folk festivals, etc. , in fact, they have not been fully excavated." Shao Yingping said that the current emphasis on "cultural and tourism integration" requires cities to express their cultural heritage through tourism channels to form high-quality cultural and tourism products and service supplies. Harbin has a very deep The humanistic heritage and how it will develop next are exciting.
Internet celebrity cities appear frequently. How can other cities learn from them?
Erbin has become popular. Jilin, Shenyang, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, etc. have all expressed their hope that this "vast wealth" can be "blessed and shared".
There is Nanjing in spring, Zibo in summer, and Erbin in winter. Internet celebrity cities frequently leave the circle, making cultural and tourism bureaus across the country ready to make moves. Can these internet celebrity cities be copied? How can other cities learn from this?
Shao Yingping believes that the reasons for the frequent hits are: First, people are more yearning for a better life, no longer just satisfying material needs, but pursuing spiritual and cultural enrichment; second, the city is currently in the stage of economic structural transformation, and cultural tourism Industry provides another alternative opportunity scenario for urban development, and everyone is willing to explore new possibilities.
"The cultural tourism industry is very fast and effective in improving the city's visibility and reputation. It is conducive to promoting the optimization of the business environment, promoting the implementation of investment attraction projects, and forming a back-and-forth with attracting young talents to stay; it also creates a large number of jobs, which is extremely It has greatly improved the happiness and satisfaction of local people's lives, and will have a good cyclical effect on urban prosperity." Shao Yingping said.
Shao Yingping also pointed out that Harbin has an advantage over Internet celebrity cities such as Zibo and Luoyang in that Harbin is the provincial capital of Heilongjiang, with relatively complete urban infrastructure and supporting facilities, sufficient reception capacity and service levels, and the ability to host world-class festivals With rich experience in events and other activities, we have the city management and emergency response capabilities to cope with the huge influx of passengers in a short period of time. At the same time, Harbin knows very well who the target customer groups are this time, so it can formulate more precise marketing strategies.
“I suggest that cities that want to follow suit should find the target customer groups and regional markets and tailor their marketing strategies, think about how their core cultural tourism resources can be invested in tourists’ preferences to form flagship products and series of products, and how to create new cultural tourism Consumption scenarios and economic growth points, how to continuously improve regional reception capacity and service quality to keep tourists coming again and again. Only by knowing who the tourists are, why they come, why they stay, and what products and services tourists are willing to pay for can we be like Harbin Take this 'richness'."
Many people are curious as to why they were suddenly called "Erbin", and some even called him "Binzi"? A reporter from Modern Express observed that there are two main theories circulating in the market: One is because Harbin Cultural Tourism released a promotional video "My surname is Ha, from Harbin!" ", in order to appear friendly, people just call it "Erbin"; another theory is that because there are too many flowers in Harbin now, the locals can no longer use "Ha".
However, no matter which one it is, it is actually due to everyone's love for a city. How much potential does Harbin’s cultural tourism market still have? Will there be more "Erbin"? There seems to be more expectations for 2024.
Modern Express+Reporter Long Qiuli
(proofread by Zhang Jingchao)
