An aerial drone photo taken on Dec. 21, 2024 shows visitors having fun at the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

The bustling Harbin Ice-Snow World, the world's largest ice-and-snow theme park, has welcomed more than 1 million visitors just 20 days after opening, setting a record high for the annual winter wonder that has delighted guests for 26 years.

Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang, has emerged as one of the country's top winter travel destinations, attracting visitors from around the globe.

As the city's iconic landmark, the Harbin Ice-Snow World, with this year's edition, the largest in its history, boasts 1 million square meters, up from last year's 800,000 square meters. More than 300,000 cubic meters of ice and snow were used in its construction.

As of 10 p.m. Thursday, the park had received a total of 1.03 million visitors since it opened on Dec. 21, 2024.

The park design incorporates elements inspired by the upcoming 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games, set to open in February, as well as the upcoming Spring Festival, which will take place at the end of January.

In addition to the park's popular attractions, which include super ice slides, ice palaces and sculpture as well as various ice and snow fun sports, visitors are also drawn to the local cuisine. A particular fan favorite among tourists is the big hotpot, which features a mix of over 30 varieties of ingredients and offers a warm and satisfying dining experience.

According to statistics of Harbin Cultural and Tourism Bureau, from Nov. 1, 2024 to January 7, 2025, the city received 18.6 percent more visitors than the same period last year with the surge of foreign tourists up by 41.1 percent year on year.