Bordered by Russia and North Korea, it is one of China’s poorest provinces, outperforming only neighbouring Jilin, Gansu, Hainan island and sparsely populated Tibet, Qinghai and Ningxia.
But the first five months of 2024 saw the operating income of Heilongjiang’s cultural, sports and entertainment industries rise nearly 60 percent year-on-year, according to official data.
Tourists spent 154 billion yuan ($21 billion) in the first half of 2024, up 171 percent from the first half of 2023.
Popular novels and dramas set in the northeast have also helped spark a travel boom to the region.
“A lot of southerners, which we call ‘little potatoes’, came over here for travel and made our Harbin very trendy,” Emily Liu, a local tour guide, told AFP.
The online fame has been good for the travel business, said 30-year-old Jiang Zhonglong, energetically gesticulating in front of his tripod just metres away from Liu.
He started working for a Harbin-based travel agency three years ago, during the Covid-19 pandemic, and said business was now much better.
“So many little friends, southern potatoes, tourists have all come here,” he said.
One night this month, the city’s commercial district of Central Street saw a steady stream of people walking on the cobblestone path under bright yellow lights.
