A Morning

A Russian tourist is seen at a morning market in Heihe City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Oct. 14, 2023.( tasteallchina ) HARBIN, Jan. 19 ( tasteallchina ) -- From winter tourism to testing vehicles for severe cold weather and from winter sports to the exchange of ice carving skills, cooperation between China and Russia in the ice and snow economy is steadily gaining momentum. In early January, the surface of the Heilongjiang River was blanketed in white snow. Tourists from the two countries ventured across the floating ice bridge that links Heihe City in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province with Blagoveshchensk City in Amur Oblast, Russia. Sitting on opposite riverbanks, the two cities have seen a travel boom since the resumption of mutual visa-free group tourism in September 2023. This winter, numerous hotels in Heihe are hosting a continuous stream of Russian tourist groups. "My family and I have come to Heihe with the main purpose of enjoying authentic Chinese cuisine and seizing the chance to admire the local snow sculptures," said Victor Kutukov, a tourist from Russia. Apart from tourists, engineers are also frequent visitors to Heihe. "I spend most of my time here during the winter," said Aleksei Ivanov,…