Longqingxia Ice and Snow Festival
Time
Usually from mid-Jan to mid-Feb. The 2014 Longqingxia Ice Festival will open in January 10.
Venue
North of Gucheng Village, Yanqing County, 80 km north of Beijing City center
Entrance Ticket
RMB 100 (50% off for students or children under 1.2m).
Origin
The precursor of the annual Longqingxia Ice and Snow Festival was called Longqingxia Ice Lantern Fair, which was firstly held in 1987. For developping the local tourism, the local government renamed the event as Longqingxia Ice and Snow Festival on Jan, 1996.
What's On
The Ice and Snow Festival held in Longqing Gorge features myriad attractions including the main event, an international ice and snow sculpture contest and various winter activities. Besides the ice sculptures that can be admired here, there are fireworks ceremonies, folk dancing, and pageants. In addition, there are other nearby ice sports activities separate from the sculptural exhibits, such as skiing, ice fishing and ice slides.
Travel Tips
1. Wear shoes with friction. It is slippery.
2. Wear warm enough because you will visit at night in the mountain area, which is colder than Beijing
3. No a lot of walking or climbing is involved. It is suitable for both children and older people.
4. It is a good idea to pack yourself a picnic since there are no food & hot drink stalls, only two mediocre touristic restaurants nearby.
5. All cars and buses have to stop at the parking area, which is quite some distance to the entrance, and transfer to their golf cars to the park. Or you have to walk 20 minutes in the cold dark night.
How to Get
From Beijing, tourists can take bus route 919 at De Sheng Men (Deshengmen) to Yanqing County and then change bus route 920 to Longqingxia.
Features
Beijing Longqing Gorge (Longqingxia) is best known in winter for its outdoor gallery of massive blocks of ice carved into animals and figures of all shapes and sizes. When illuminated at night they create one of those rare must-see-to-experience visuals. The mountains around the gorge will also be illuminated, forming a lighting Great Wall - a beautiful background for the ice lantern wonderland in the middle basin. Performances and toboggan add to the festival's fun.
Longqingxia's winter wonderland will never quite match the famous ice sculpture festival in Harbin for scale or beauty. However, it is a fun option for families who want to spend the day somewhere close, cheap and more comfortable than biting Harbin.
Tour Packages of Longqingxia Ice and Snow Festival
Questions & Answers about Longqingxia Ice and Snow Festival
Asked by E St from Germany 2014-07-19
Answered by Trip China Guide 2014-07-21
We can't give you a precise date now because the opening date of the festival is heavily dependent on the winter temperature. Some years, we see snow in early December, but some year we cannot see snow until the early January. Based on our experience, the festival some years start in December 1, some years start around December 15 and some years start around January 10-15.
Asked by Alice Ho from Malaysia 2013-12-30
Asked by Shireen JY 2015-01-12
Answered by Trip China Guide 2015-01-15