As the Chinese Year of the Snake approaches, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region launched its 2025 Ice and Snow Season in Zhangjiakou City's Chongli District of north China's Hebei Province on Saturday.
The Spring Festival, marking the start of the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year, is the country's grandest traditional festival. It falls on Jan 29 this year, ushering in the Year of the Snake, the 6th of the 12-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese Zodiac.
During the Season, tourists' destinations featuring ice and snow resources will be promoted, and coupons and discounts will be provided for consumers.
As one of the host cities of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Chongli has seen booming ice and snow economy and become a popular destination for ski enthusiasts from home and abroad.
At present, Chongli has a total of nine ski resorts. To attract visitors in different age groups, some ski resorts have added exclusive areas for teenage and teaching areas for children.
In addition, several ski resorts in Chongli have also opened skiing facilities during the night, extending the skiing hours and adding more night skiing trails.
Since the beginning of the new ski season, Chongli's total number of visitors has exceeded one million, representing a nearly 20 percent year-on-year increase.
In the Winter Olympic Village in Chongli, there are over 1,500 apartments available, where visitors can choose to stay for either long or short term. Currently, the occupancy rate of the village has exceeded 80 percent.
City cluster launches winter sports season to boost Spring Festival atmospbere
China is ready to work with Argentina to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and bring the bilateral relations to a new level, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday.
This will benefit the people of the two countries and help China and Latin America achieve common development and prosperity, Wang said. He made the remarks during a meeting with his Argentine counterpart Gerardo Werthein on the sidelines of the ongoing Munich Security Conference.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that the Chinese and Argentine people have enjoyed a long-standing friendship, and China-Argentina cooperation is equal and mutually beneficial.
Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Argentine President Javier Milei held a meeting and reached important consensus on consolidating and developing bilateral relations, said Wang.
China is willing to work with Argentina to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state and strengthen exchanges at the high level and in all fields, so as to bring the bilateral relations to a new level and better benefit the people of both countries, he said.
Wang also said the two sides should continue to respect and accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns, and continuously consolidate the political foundation of bilateral relations.
Wang pointed out that China does not seek spheres of influence, nor does it participate in geopolitical competition. In international affairs, China firmly practices multilateralism and is willing to work with Latin American countries, including Argentina, to firmly safeguard the international rule of law and the basic norms of international relations, he said.
Wang noted that China-Argentina relations are an important part of China-Latin America relations. Over the past decade since its establishment, the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Forum has effectively promoted China-Latin America cooperation and brought tangible benefits to the people of both sides, he said.
China is willing to work with Latin American countries to support the development and growth of the China-CELAC Forum, helping China and Latin America achieve common development and prosperity, said Wang.
Werthein said that Argentina attaches great importance to its relations with China, and looks forward to strengthening high-level exchanges and deepening pragmatic cooperation with China.
Noting that Argentina appreciates China's support for Argentina's defense of its sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, Werthein said Argentina firmly adheres to the one-China principle and is willing to become a reliable and stable cooperative partner of China.
Werthein also said that Argentina will play an active role in promoting the development of Latin America-China relations on the basis of strengthening bilateral relations.
China ready to push ties with Argentina to higher level: FM
