The city of Harbin of Northeast China has a flair for celebrating its chilly weather as it receives its winter wind from Siberia. Experiencing an average winter temperature of about -16.8 degrees Celsius, Harbin is dubbed the “Ice City” and is home to the world’s fourth largest snow and winter festival.
The Harbin Snow and Winter Festival, which attracts visitors from all over, features sculpting ice blocks from the nearby Songhua River. The ice sculptures you will see here are not some small structural projects; they are huge and ambitious! They form pyramids, palaces, dragons and fairytale landscape.
This annual festival officially starts early in January each year and lasts for a month. It showcases the masterpieces of local carvers as well as international experts on ice sculpting. The exhibits sometimes remain open for a longer period of time depending on weather conditions. The sculptures that are made at the festival may be of traditional style like the ice lanterns, or are made with modern design and technology. They are grouped into large scale exhibitions and are found in different areas of the city. If you do have the luxury of time, you should definitely pay a visit to each of these sites.
One of the highlight sites in the city is the Ice and Snow World, which showcases massive blocks of ice the size of buildings that are equipped with colorful LED lights. Thus, the evenings are very special in this architectural park as you will be dazzled by illuminated ice displays which provide a stark contrast to the dark night sky. Most of the ice sculptures in this exhibit are from Chinese mythological and fairytale icons as well as famous structures like pyramids and palaces.
The Snow Sculpture Exposition is another major festival exhibition located in Sun Island Park. Aside from witnessing this beautiful exposition, you will also get to visit the largest ice and snow art museum in the world. At Zhaolin Park, the Ice Lantern Garden Party is waiting to be admired. The ice lanterns made in this park have been impressing visitors since the late 1900s. The ice artwork in this area is divided into various themes, which depict European and Chinese classic folktales and customs. You will find ice carved waterfalls, churches, gardens, flowers and animals. The park also gloriously shines in the evening as the sculptures sparkle in colored lights.
Seeing incredible ice sculptures is not the only thing you can do during the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival. Daily programs and activities are also organized for the spectators. Some of the activities include figure skating, ice boxing competitions and alpine skiing at the famous Yabuli International Ski Resort. If you are quite daring, you can try the polar plunge which leads to the ice free section of Songhua. Test your mettle by joining the winter-swimming activity in the Songhua River. You may also do a lovely tour the many parks in the city which have their own ice lantern decorations.
If you’re already itching to see this marvelous spectacle, you will be happy to know that Harbin is quite an accessible town. Go ahead and hop a train or plane from Beijing or Shanghai to experience this winter wonderland!
