[Photo/Xinhua]

Xiong Qi, a native of Central China's Hunan province who now lives in Shanghai, has decided to celebrate the "winter festival" by taking a trip to Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, to visit its famous ice festival.

"Winter festival" is how Xiong refers to the winter solstice, a time when as a child he ate dumplings and sat on his parents' comfortable sofa watching movies.

Although North China's snowy season is not a traditional time for outings, it has benefited from the expansion of the high-speed rail network and the growing public interest in winter sports, and an increasing number of travelers such as Xiong are embracing it as a time for fun.

"I don't have many opportunities to see heavy snow in my daily life, so naturally I was attracted by the ice world," the 33-year-old teacher said. "But North China is known for its bitterly cold winters and poor connections with other parts of the country, and it never crossed my mind that I would travel such a long way just to see some ice sculptures, but now, we have more high-speed trains, which are comfortable, affordable, and time-efficient," he added. "Also, with Beijing's bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, many of my friends are becoming interested in skiing and other winter sports."