Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival
Time
From January 5 to the end of February every year
Venue
Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province
Other names
Harbin Ice Festival, Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival
Origin
Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang Province, is a beautiful city featuring a great number of European-style buildings and the amalgamation of Chinese and foreign cultures. Every year the ice period lasts about 190 days in Harbin, hence it is known as the Ice City. The bitter-cold and long-lasting winter and solid ice with strong plasticity and unusual compressive resistance provide the special natural conditions for the development of the Ice and Snow Festival.
To promote the ice and snow culture of Harbin and raise the international reputation of Harbin tourism, the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival is held every year starting from 1985.
What's On
During the festival, the host city holds the ice lantern park fair, the snow sculptures park fair, and international competitions for ice and snow sculptures; launches winter swimming, speed skating, mountain skiing and cross-field skiing competitions; and organize the ice and snow film art festival, exhibitions of painting, calligraphy and photos, performances of folk songs and dances, and wedding ceremonies on ice, in addition to economic and trade talks, commodities fairs and trade fairs.
Main Theme Parks of the Harbin Ice Festival
Ice and Snow World, Harbin Ice Lantern Fair, Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo, Songhua River Ice and Snow Happy Valley
What to See Apart from the Ice Festival in Harbin
Songhua River Tourist Area, Sun Island, St. Sofia Church, Yabuli Ski Resort, Central Street, Siberian Tiger Park, Stalin Park, Zhaolin Park, Erlongshan Ski Resort, Unit 731 Museum, Harbin Polarland, New Synagogue, Bliss Temple, Jinyuan
Cultural Tourist Area, Heilongjiang Provincial Museum, Dragon Tower
How to Get
There are flights to over thirty cities including Beijing, Tianjing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Qingdao, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Dalian, Xi'an and Hong Kong. In addition there are also scheduled flights between Harbin and cities of some countries, including USA, Russia, Korea, Japan, and Singapore. In addition, tourists can go to Harbin by train from most of Chinese cities or Pyongyang, the capital city of DPRK.
Tour Packages of Harbin Ice Festival
3-day Cheap Harbin Ice Festival Tour
