Fireworks lit up the sky as the 22nd Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival opened on Thursday in the capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

 

Top officials in the city, which was affected by water pollution last year after a chemical spill, pledged yesterday supplies are all clean for the formal start of the annual month-long ice and snow gala.

 

A chemical plant blast on November 13 in neighboring Jilin Province contaminated the Songhua River, disrupting the normal life of millions of people living along the riverbank downstream.

 

Harbin with an urban population of nearly 4 million heavily relies on the river as its water source.

 

It was forced to cut off the city's water supply for five days to wait for the toxic slick in the river to pass by from November 23 to 27.

 

Many had questioned whether there would be any toxic residues left in the river and if the city's snow extravaganza, which consumes tons of ice and snow, would be affected.

 

"I can guarantee that the ice and snow we have used for the festival are safe and clean," said Du Yuxin, secretary of Harbin's municipal Party committee.

 

He said the arrival of the toxic slick in Harbin coincided with the low water time of the Songhua River, when the main tributary and its branch were already separated.

 

He explained water used in the ice sculptures was all extracted from the branch river, so the water quality was not affected.

 

The local environmental protection bureau has also checked the water and found no toxic chemical pollutants at all, he added.

 

"I believe there is nothing to worry about and no need for visitors from both home and abroad to eliminate Harbin from their touring schedule," he said.

 

Du said there had been a huge increase in the number of visitors to the city last year.

 

Eighteen million tourists from home and abroad visited Harbin in 2005, a rise of about 2 million from 2004, bringing in an income of around 12 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion).

 

Among them were about 200,000 foreigners, with Russian tourists accounting for 80 percent.

 

"The water pollution incident has not hit the tourists' passion to enjoy the ice gala this year," he said.

 

Some 2,000 tourists from Russia spent the New Year in Harbin, he claimed. A host of miniatures of Russian landmarks will be on display during the annual event themed "China-Russia Friendship."

 

(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2006)