They can also send postcards featuring reindeer from the Christmas post office.

Genhe city is next to Oroqen autonomous banner. It's said to be the birthplace of Xianbei, an extinct ancient ethnic group.

It's today home to the Oroqen people, another ethnic group with a small population in Inner Mongolia.

The Oroqen people in traditional attire perform shamanic rituals to offer sacrifices to the god of fire at the annual yisaren ("assembly" in the Oroqen language) ice-and-snow festival held between December and March.

Visitors can enjoy large ice sculptures, ride on horses with hunters (guns were banned years ago) and visit the Oroqen ethnic-culture museum.

They can also join such winter sports as horse-sleigh riding, hiking and a local version of soccer.

The Oroqen people make such household utensils as bowls from birch bark. This necessity has evolved into souvenirs for visitors.

The government supports the tradition's preservation and promotion.

"Tourists prefer birch-bark handicrafts made using traditional techniques, because they're stitched with horse hair rather than glue," says 37-year-old He Lei, whose aunt taught him the craft as a child.

"Worms won't eat them. And they're good for storing tea."

Visitors who make the journey to Genhe city and Oroqen autonomous Banner in winter will discover how its cold climate has shaped Ewenki and Oroqen cultures, and they can experience the warmth of its people.