Harbin Ice & Snow Sculpture Festival

Now, the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival is famed as one of the world's top four ice & snow festivals, together with Japan Sapporo Snow Festival, Canada Quebec Winter Carnival, and Norway Holmenkollen Ski Festival. A world plaza evokes a pristine snow fantasy and attracts a growing number of visitors from the globe.   

This China's largest winter event is primarily featured by large ice sculptures exhibition at Ice & Snow World and Stalin Park, snow carvings garden party in the Sun Island, ice lantern garden party and more ice activities on the Songhua River.          


Origin
Shortly, Harbin Ice Festival was called and originated from local Haerbiner traditional ice lantern show garden party in winter. The Harbin city governors got a festival sponsor idea when they led Hong Kong officals to the ice lantern show and earned a praise in 1983. Then the first Harbin Ice Festival held with grand ceremony at Zhaolin Park on January 5 in 1985 and was announced as an annual event lasting a month.
   
In 2001, Harbin Ice Festival was merged with Heilongjiang International Ski Festival and got its new formal name China Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.


Festival Activities:
Annually, Harbin Ice and Snow Festival will start on December 1 and last to February 28 next year. The grand ceremony will be officially launched on January 5 with many winter activities and push the festival to the height.

Whats's more, two most important Chinese traditional celibration Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, as well as New Year, Ski Festival usually occur at the same festival duration, which make the event atmosphere much more festive.

List of top things to do during the Harbin festival are winter swimming, ice hockey, snow football, alpine skiing, ice sculpture competition, short track speed ice skating game, ice snow poem-reciting party, ice photographic exhibition, ice movie festival, ice snow wedding ceremonies, firework display, ice lantern show, ice & snow carnival, sledding, winter fishing, northeast Chinese folk song and dance performances, sorts of trade fairs and so on.  

Why Go There?
Ice Snow Festival has made Harbin be one of the most important world's winter travel destination for tourists and photographers and top ice city for winter relax, family or honeymoon vacation.


Travel Tips
* Your trip to festival venues can start two ends of Central Street from Sophia Church or Flood Control Monument by the Songhuajiang River.
 
* There is no one ticket for whole Harbin festival and the ticket price vary from one to another tourist spot. But sometimes, the ticket can get a small discount during the morning 9:00—12:00; and usuall there is nothing discount from 12:00 to 21:00 one day.   

* Cold-proof clothing to keep you warm in ice city is always the first kind warning before you do any "adventurous" things in the China's North Pole Harbin.