Harbin International Ice & Snow Sculpture Festival
The annual Harbin International Ice & Snow Sculpture Festival has been held since 1963. It had been interrupted for a number of years during the Cultural Revolution until it was resumed in 1985.
Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, is located in Northeast China under the direct influence of the cold winter wind from Siberia. The average temperature in Winter is -16.8 C, and it can get as cold as -38.1 C.
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| Harbin Ice Festival | Harbin Ice Festival |
Officially, the festival starts January 5th and lasts one month. However, the exhibits often open earlier and stay longer, weather permitting. Ice sculpture decoration technology ranges from the using modern lasers to traditional ice lanterns. The Harbin festival is one of the world's four largest ice and snow festivals, along with Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival, Canada's Quebec City Winter Carnival, and Norway's Ski Festival.
Swing saws are used to carve ice into blocks, taken from the frozen surface of the Songhua River. Chisels, ice picks and various types of saws are then used by ice sculptors to carve out large scaled ice sculptures, many of them intricately designed and worked on all day and night prior to the commencement of the festival.
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| Harbin Ice Festival | Harbin Ice Festival |
Deionised water can also be used, producing ice blocks as transparent as glass to make clear sculptures rather than translucent ones. Multicoloured lights are also used to give colour to ice, creating variations on sculptured spectacles when lit up especially at night. These exquisitely-detailed ice sculptures are the main draw card in attracting tourists around the world to the festival.
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| Harbin Ice Festival | Harbin Ice Festival |
Possible Itinerary
Harbin can be easily reached by plane (2.5 hours), express train (8 hours, day time) or night train (12 hours, soft-sleeper).
Day 1:
- Leave Beijing on the express train in the early morning for the 8 hour journey to Harbin.
- Arrive at Harbin, transfer & check in at accommodation around 15:00 h
- Take a stroll along picturesque Central Street and have dinner.
Day 2:
- Visit the Snow Expo during the day.
- Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.
- Visit the Ice Festival in the evening.
Day 3:
- Explore central Harbin.
- Enjoy the ice sculptures throughout the city.
Day 4:
- Take the train back to Beijing.
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| Harbin Snow Expo | Harbin Snow Expo |
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| Harbin Snow Expo | Harbin Snow Expo |
Services I can provide for your Harbin trip:
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| Harbin Central Street | Traditional Sweets |
Photos of Ice Festival
Photos of Snow Expo
Photos of ice being cut
Photos of central Harbin