[PHOTOS] This Incredible Winter Festival Held Yearly In China Is The Prettiest Thing Ever
The 'coolest' festival.
By Celine Low — 09 Jan 2025, 12:15 PM
The city of Harbin, China is hosting a gorgeous winter wonderland festival, where you can see intricate ice sculptures, towering snow structures, and dazzling fireworks and light displays
The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, an annual winter extravaganza, recently held its 41st edition last Sunday, 5 January, and is expected to run until early March 2025.
First founded in 1985, it is ranked as the fourth-largest ice and snow festival in the world!
The festival features various attractions, such as the Ice Lantern Garden in Zhaolin Park, the Great Snow and Ice World by the Songhua River, the Snow Sculpture Exposition at Sun Island Park, and the Large-Scale Ice Sculpture Exhibition at Stalin Park.
This park spans over 600,000 sq m and features gigantic constructions and artworks crafted entirely from ice and snow that are illuminated from within by colourful lights
Here, you can find plenty of iconic landscape buildings of the member countries and regions of the East Asia Zone of the Olympic Council of Asia, all recreated in ice.
Aside from admiring the ice creations, the festival offers a range of fun activities like snow tubing, snow sliding, and snow biking
You can also visit the incredible snow sculptures in the Sun Island scenic area near the Songhua River
With a ticket price of approximately 215 yuan (RM132), it's a great spot for both sightseeing and play.
The sheer size and scale of the park allow for hours of exploration.
According to Visit Tour China, the breakdown of the admission fee looks like this:
- Ice Lantern Garden:
- Before 3.30pm: 15 yuan (approximately RM9)
- After 3.30pm: 30 yuan (approximately RM18)
- Great Snow and Ice World: 150 yuan (approximately RM92)
- Snow Sculpture Exposition: 50 yuan (approximately RM31)
Remember to dress warmly, as temperatures in Harbin can drop to as low as -35°C.
If possible, avoid travelling during the Chinese Spring Festival to avoid peak crowds and higher prices.
