【GreaterDive】The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival is an annual winter-themed festival held in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, and is now the largest ice and snow festival in the world. Initially attended mainly by Chinese, it has since become an international festival and competition, attracting 18 million visitors.

The festival starts from late December to late February. 

Ice sculptures are spread throughout the city, but there are two main exhibits:

• Sun Island is a recreational area on the opposite bank of the Songhua River, which is home to a huge snow sculpture expo.
• Ice and SnowWorld is an area open in the afternoons and evenings with full-size illuminated buildings made of 2-3 feet of ice taken directly from the Songhua River. The first Ice World opened to the public in 1999 to celebrate the millennium. Each year, Ice World is rebuilt with new ice buildings and ice sculptures. In recent years, the park has reached an area of 800,000 square metres (80 hectares).

During the festival, there are ice lantern park touring activities held in many parks in the city. Winter activities during the festival include Yabuli alpine skiing, winter-swimming in the Songhua River, and the ice-lantern exhibition in Zhaolin Garden.