'Tangerine kids' give winter a fruitful appeal

Eleven children ages 3 to 6, bundled up in bright orange down coats, have captured netizens' hearts as they embark on a "brave" camping trip in a region in northeastern China known as a near-arctic "winter wonderland".

The preschoolers, who are escorted by three teachers, are from Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, over 3,000 kilometers away, with a daytime temperature currently above 20 C.

Upon their arrival last week in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, they sparked huge discussions on social media due to their adorable uniforms and general cuteness.

They have accumulated a flood of followers curious about their adventures in the north.

As Guangxi is associated with tangerines, which have a peel color that's exactly the same as the down jackets worn by the children, these intrepid little travelers are affectionately referred to online as "little tangerines".

They had fun in the ice and snow during their travels in Heilongjiang, which included tours to Harbin, China's northernmost city, Mohe, and the "Snow Town".

To express gratitude for the hospitality they've received in Heilongjiang, 189 metric tons of freshly picked tangerines from Guangxi were sent to the province last week and were given out at a popular tourist destination free of charge.

On Sunday, the children kick-started a new journey to neighboring Jilin province. They were showered with affection by the locals and received gifts from a group of friends dressed in blue outfits, representing the region's iconic rime.

"Jilin, here we come!" the young southerners said online.

In Jilin, the children embarked on a nighttime boat trip and tried skiing, and visited some popular sights.

"The kids learned very fast and showed a lot of enthusiasm for skiing. Some of them just lay down to feel and play with the snow. I look forward to the chance to meet them again," says Geng Shilin, a ski coach at Lake Songhua Resort.

One of the kids' parents says: "It was a total surprise that the children's trip went viral on the internet. They received a lot of love and attention, and we are deeply moved."

Their journey is but part of a larger trend in which winter tourism to cold regions has been heating up in recent years in China.

Northeastern cities, such as Harbin and Yanji, have frequently made headlines this season as southerners are flocking there to savor the ice and snow.

New facilities and services, such as free subway shuttles and makeshift buildings for people to warm up in, have been provided to ensure a better travel experience for sightseers fighting the bitter outdoor cold, which netizens are jokingly calling measures to "spoil" tourists.

Harbin set records when it received more than 3 million tourists and tourism income of nearly 6 billion yuan ($826 million) during the three-day New Year holiday.

Jilin, which boasts 75 ski resorts, hopes to receive more than 115 million arrivals during the snowy seasons between 2023 and 2024, an increase of more than 100 percent year-on-year. The province also aims to generate a total ice-and-snow tourism revenue of 230 billion yuan, up 128 percent year-on-year.

After watching the fantastic adventures of the 11 kids, many travelers have already put cities in Northeast China on their wish lists of destinations for the upcoming Spring Festival holiday.

"Seeing the experiences of tourists and the 'little tangerines' in northeastern China makes me want to pack up and start my journey right away," writes a netizen from Hebei province.