Six destinations in northern China are to boost winter tourism. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Six destinations in northern China spent Christmas exploring ways to boost winter tourism at an annual tourism-development meeting.

The Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Beijing, and Hebei, Jilin, Heilongjiang and Liaoning provinces formed an association to promote travel to their locations during the coldest months.

"We will grow the industry while introducing China's most unique winter resources to the world," says Heilongjiang's tourism authority's head, Xi Dongguang.

Heilongjiang is a good launchpad for other destinations where ice and snow lure tourists, Xi says. It has developed five classic winter-travel itineraries.

The association will develop a system to integrate and enhance catering, accommodation, shopping and entertainment.

It's the first of its kind since the country won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. The government expects 300 million Chinese will become involved in winter sports before the Games.

More than 700 insiders attended the meeting, which was hosted by China Tourism News, the China Tourism Association and the Heilongjiang tourism authority.

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