In the first half of 2018, the tourism industry in Changchun, capital city of Jilin province, maintained a good momentum, according to statistics from the Changchun City Tourism Administration.

The statistics reveal that Changchun received 44.98 million tourists, up 14.62 percent year-on-year, and the total tourism revenue grew 18.23 percent, hitting 94.05 billion yuan ($13.68 billion). The steady growth shows that the city's strategy of promoting characteristic and holistic tourism in winter and summer has turned out to be effective.

On the one hand, the 21st Changchun Ice and Snow Festival, which kicked off on Nov 23, 2017 and closed on Mar 2, 2018, specifically opened 41 resorts for winter sports across the city. The winter season between 2017 and 2018 brought Changchun total tourism income of 15.97 billion yuan ($2.32 billion) from 14.62 million tourists, increased respectively by 16 percent and 19 percent.

On the other hand, the city has intensified its efforts to become a tourist Mecca for people to escape the heat. A series of summer events were held to pull in the punters, including parades, music festivals and running games. The 12th Changchun Summer Relaxation Festival kicked off on June 16 with 33 activities focused on spending a happy summer, and will last until Sept 3. Changchun saw a total of 160 million tourists visit the annual festival in the past 11 years.

Changchun has also made great efforts in upgrading its public services and promoting rural tourism to make the industry more prosperous.

Changchun's Ice and Snow Festival and Jingyuetan Vasa International Skiing Festival is famous for its wonderful outdoor ice-and-snow activities. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Music concerts during the Changchun Summer Relaxation Festival have attracted people to spend their holidays in Changchun. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]