STORY: Tourist train opens for snow season in China's Heilongjiang
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Dec. 10, 2024
LENGTH: 00:00:52
LOCATION: HARBIN, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Harbin Station
2. various of the Yabuli Ski Resort
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): LIU WANNING, Tourist from Shanghai
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): ZHANG YUE, Head of the train crew
5. various of Yabuli Station

STORYLINE:

As the snow season arrives in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, train services connecting the provincial capital Harbin and the Yabuli Ski Resort are back in operation.

Nearly 200 kilometers from Harbin, the Yabuli Ski Resort has more than 50 ski trails and a maximum snow-covering period of 170 days every year.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): LIU WANNING, Tourist from Shanghai
"On the flight to Harbin, we saw a newspaper article mentioning that this train started running on November 22 this year, connecting Harbin directly to the ski resort. I thought it would be convenient to bring my kid along, so I bought tickets immediately after landing. The carriage is very nice. It's very clean, with quite comfortable seats."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): ZHANG YUE, Head of the train crew
"We've set up a cultural corner, with notes on the wall featuring QR codes. Passengers can scan these codes with their phones to access information about Harbin, the Yabuli Ski Resort, local cuisine, and the train schedule. We've also provided dust bags for passengers to store skis, snowboards and bulky luggage."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Harbin, China.
(XHTV)