It all started with a furore, when the Harbin Ice and Snow World was overcrowded by incoming visitors on its opening day. Many had to spend much longer than expected time waiting to get on some of the popular amusement facilities. Angry customers asked the park for ticket refunds. That may have, like many other similar cases, turned into a complete PR disaster, damaging the park and even the city’s reputation. Then things took a U-turn. The Ice and Snow World issued a public apology and swiftly initiated refunds for dissatisfied customers, while local officials with the tourism bureau went supervising rectification in the park and apologized. Those only took them one night, and it all went from frowny faces to applauses. This perfect case study of crisis management turns into another case study of tourism promotion for the city, and you can almost sense the striking resemblance of Harbin, China’s famed “icy city” in northeastern Heilongjiang Province, with Zibo, eastern Shandong  Province, which went from little known to viral for its barbecue culture in the summer last year. And there’s more. This winter wonderland is in sharp contrast with the city's longtime image as a heavy industrial city in China's "rust belt." Sounds familiar? Because that’s another reason why Zibo stood out as a new fanbase for youngsters who are looking for something new in an old industrial city. Surely this time, the advent of social media has also served to heighten the popularity of the Harbin winter extravaganza. Video footages of tourists in puffer hats and gloves dancing to music in Harbin online got nearly 100 million views on Sina Weibo as of Saturday afternoon. Many of the tourists come from the southern regions, such as Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian provinces. Often clad in orange or yellow down-jackets, they are even nicknamed “tangerines” or “potatoes”, grabbing much attention on social media. At the end of the three-day New Year weekend, the city reported a record 3 million visitors who spent a record 5.9 billion yuan. Prodded by social media hype, tourists flooded in to marvel at the magnificent frozen sculptures at the world's largest ice festival. Trip.com, an online travel platform, reported that tour orders for a trip to Harbin this season increased 158 percent from the same period last year. According to data from Meituan.com, bookings for hospitality and tickets in the city of Qiqihar in Heilongjiang via the platform surged by 160.2 percent year-on-year during the New Year Day holidays, while entertainment income jumped by 866.5 percent year-on-year. Harbin's success has also thrilled investors, with A-shares related to the revitalization of Northeast China reporting a rapid climb in prices.  As the top attraction most visitors are there to experience, the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival grew out of the traditional ice lantern show that began in 1963. It has now been an annual event since 1985. Artists from around the world come to carve more than 250,000 cubic meters of ice into nearly 1,000 ice and snow sculptures and installations. The ice is hauled to the site from the city's frozen Songhua River. And the activities don't end there. The festival offers a snowflake Ferris wheel, icy super slides, skating, snowmobiling and winter swimming! There are also fireworks, folk performances and for those who prefer more traditional sightseeing, Harbin's Russian heritage buildings are popular venues. The festival normally lasts for about two months into late February. There is no closing date. It all depends on the thaw. Apart from the city's unique tourism offering, the newfound fame of Harbin lies in what’s in its core: heartwarming hospitality. Harbin locals go all out in extending hospitality to visitors. Arriving in Harbin, tourists were welcomed with live performances at the airport, and temporary dressing rooms lined up for them to change into warmer clothing. In addition, many local residents