With mascots greeting visitors and competition venues prepared in optimal conditions, "Ice City" Harbin launched its one-month countdown to the 9th Asian Winter Games on Tuesday.

Already a popular tourism destination in Northeast China, the capital of Heilongjiang province is buzzing with more excitement this winter as it enters the homestretch of preparations for hosting the Games, which will open on Feb 7.

Relying on its abundant winter sports facilities and the rich experience gathered when hosting the event for the first time in 1996, the city is confidently pushing ahead with the final preparations, according to the organizing committee.

The mascots of the 9th Asian Winter Games in 2025, Binbin and Nini, a pair of cute Siberian tigers, are unveiled on Jan 11, 2024 during a ceremony in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Harbin's encore as a host will help cement its status as an international sports hub and winter tourism wonderland for both domestic and overseas visitors, it said.

"I believe with all our efforts, the city will build an excellent stage for Asia's best winter sports athletes to demonstrate their talent and present ice and snow sports fans with an unforgettable treat," Li Guang, competition director of the Harbin 2025 Asian Winter Games Organizing Committee, said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The 2025 Harbin edition of the Games will mark the largest representation of Asian countries and regions, with 34 national Olympic committees — the most in the event's history — having confirmed their participation, including Cambodia and Saudi Arabia, which are taking part for the first time.

A total of 1,275 athletes have signed up to compete in 64 medal events across six sports through Feb 14, according to the organizing committee. Among the events, mixed doubles curling, ski mountaineering and synchronized freestyle skiing aerials will make their debut at the Games, it revealed.

All 13 pre-existing competition venues — five for ice sports in downtown Harbin and another eight for snow events in Yabuli, a ski resort cluster located 200 kilometers from the provincial capital — have completed renovation and equipment upgrading to meet international standards. The venues are currently fine-tuning services and operations based on feedback from seven test events held last year.

Seven more test events, all for snow-based sports, will continue examining facility readiness, staff training and service protocols at the venues over the next two weeks, in order to ensure "no stone is left unturned" to guarantee the best possible experience for all participants, said Li.

To address various challenges triggered by Harbin's cold weather, particularly those related to traffic during the Games, the city has mobilized over 40,000 sanitation workers, deployed 1,700 sets of cleaning machinery and prepared over 4,000 metric tons of eco-friendly snow-melting agent, according to the city's urban management bureau.

The primary objective is to keep main roads and transport hubs near the competition venues clean and dry even if there is heavy snowfall, said the bureau.

Tang Kexin, head of the bureau, said: "We've done three rounds of snow-removing drills so far this winter, with the efficiency of the staff very much improved. We will pile up excess snow in some areas though to keep the city's winter characteristics within the reach of visitors."

The organizing committee also announced on Tuesday that the highly anticipated opening ceremony of the Games has been rehearsed under the guidance of Chief Director Sha Xiaolan, who was the architect of the well-regarded opening and closing ceremonies of the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023.

The opening ceremony will take place at the Main Media Center.

"Since November, the rehearsals have been running at multiple locations simultaneously. We are confident that the opening show will demonstrate the Chinese spirit in the new era, while extending our sincere wishes to build a harmonious Asian community with a shared future," said Du Wenxi, operation director of the Main Media Center.