Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival

The Harbin International Ice and Snow festival is an annual winter festival that takes place in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, and is one of the four largest ice and snow festivals in the world, including the Quebec City Winter Carnival in Canada, the Holmenkollen Ski Festival in Norway, and the Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan.

The official Harbin Ice and Snow Festival Ceremony starts from 5 January to 5 February every year. However, the annual festival actually begins in late December and lasts around 2 months until late February of the next year. 

The Best Places to Enjoy the Harbin Ice Festival

Ice and snow sculptures are dotted throughout Harbin city, but there are three main venues with different exhibitions to celebrate the festival.

• Harbin Ice and Snow World — a Colorful "Ice Disneyland"
• Sun Island — See the Art of Snow Sculpting
• Zhaolin Park — Small but Lovely Ice Lanterns

Harbin Ice and Snow World — a Colorful "Ice Disneyland"

When talking about Harbin Ice Festival, people are typically referring to the Harbin Ice and Snow World, which displays ice sculptures of huge proportions and opens from 11am to 10pm each day.

It would be the largest-scale one with one million square meters, incorporating the elements of the Asian Winter Games.

Best time to enter: Harbin gets dark at around 4 pm in winter. The best time to enter the ice world is around 3 pm to appreciate the transparent and shining ice sculptures in the daytime, soon followed by the dazzling colors and light effects at night.

It is recommended to spend no more than 4 hours inside the ice world, since it is well below freezing, especially after sunset.

You could also immerse yourself in many popular classic activities, such as exquisite ice sculpture appreciation, Snow Ferris Wheel, Harbin show (dances, ice acrobatics, etc.), delicious local cuisine, disco dance carnival, RV Campground, and ice activities like skating, skiing, and ice biking.

Sun Island — the Art of Snow Sculpting

The Sun Island venue, or the International Snow Sculpture Art Expo, is another important event of the Harbin Ice Festival. Square miles of giant snow sculptures made by artists from all over the world are displayed there.

Best time to enter: It is open from 8 am to 4 pm, and it usually takes 2–3 hours for a full visit. Unlike the better-known ice sculptures, the snow sculptures are not lit up at night and are best seen in sunlight.

So we suggest visiting here in the morning and going to the Ice and Snow World in the afternoon. Start at 10 o'clock when the sunlight is just right and warm, and enter the Ice and Snow World at 3 p.m. For specific information on Harbin winter tours, please take a look at our Harbin tour packages.

Zhaolin Park — Small but Lovely Ice Lanterns

The Zhaolin Park is mostly an ice world focused on small kids. The ice lantern sculptures are mainly made by college students or young ice sculpture enthusiasts. Over 300 fine ice sculptures are displayed, including internally-illuminated ice lanterns, magical figures, and animals that are loved by children.

There are fun activities that kids may enjoy, such as small ice slides. You may also find some un-carved ice blocks inside the park which are used for family competitions. If you happen to be there with an ice sculpture competition, join in for fun.

Unlike the other two venues, which charge a comparatively high entrance fee, Zhaolin Park is free to enter.

The park is usually open from 9 am to 9 pm. Choose a convenient time to visit around your other activities, as it is perfectly located in the city center.

Things You May Want to Know about Harbin Ice and Snow Festival

How is the Harbin ice & snow world made?

In early December, a traditional Ice Harvest Ceremony is held on the frozen Songhua River in Harbin. From then on, thousands of workers cut and collect ice blocks from the river while artists carve and connect the blocks to create various sculptures or buildings. In around 3–4 weeks, Harbin is transformed into a winter wonderland.

How do artists in Harbin make ice sculptures?

First, workers obtain the materials — ice blocks from the Songhua River.

Then, the ice blocks are transported to the venue and stuck together to form large shapes of the desired dimensions.

Finally, the artists use tools, such as shovels and saws to cut, polish, and shape the ice sculptures that are finally presented to visitors.

Why is the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival so special?

This winter wonderland is dazzlingly awesome, yet ephemeral. It is a large project, but short-lived: it lasts no more than 2 months.

How big is it? Consider the amount of ice used: over 200,000 cubic meters (80 Olympic pools). If a normal truck carries 4–7 cubic meters of ice blocks per time, at least 30,000 to 50,000 truck journeys are used for transportation.

What happens to the ice sculptures after the festival?

Temperatures in Harbin stay well below 0°C (32°F) for the three months of the Ice and Snow Festival. The ice sculptures do not melt until March or April when the weather gradually warms up.

Some small ice sculptures are safe to let melt naturally. Some large ice sculptures that are dangerous when they collapse during the melting process are dismantled by construction demolition methods, e.g. implosion blasting or excavator and breaker.