Since 1985, the Harbin International Snow Festival is celebrated every January 5. It officially begins on January 5, and runs for one month. The Harbin International Ice & Snow Festival is the biggest and most unusual of its kind worldwide. This great festival coincides with Harbin Ice Sculptures Fair in Sun Island, Harbin Ice World Exhibition of Ice Sculptures in Stalin Park and Harbin Ice Lanterns Fair in Zhaolin Park.
There are many festivals during this festival. These events attract many snow lovers from all over the globe to Harbin every year.
This festival is now known as the “world-class ice and winter Disneyland”.
Sun Island
Sun Island can be found on the Songhua River’s northern bank. This island is located opposite the Stalin Park. The Sun Island summer resort, as well as the winter events, are both very popular. When the island is covered in snow, visitors from around the globe will flock here during winter to enjoy the snowy landscape. After landing on this beautiful island, enjoy the fresh snowy air and linger there until you return to your hotel.
Ice Lantern Art Fair
Harbin is where the Ice Lantern Art takes place. It was established in 1963 and has since been held in Zhaolin Park, Harbin. The largest and most historic ice lantern fair, this is also the oldest. It features traditional programming and has the longest outdoor duration. Many Chinese leaders have given it high marks and set 7 Guinness World Records during these years.
Materials for lantern-making are made from the Songhua River ice, water, and colored light. The artists will show you a variety of lanterns made by them, including laying, building, sculpting and spraying. You will find beautiful lanterns everywhere you go: ice building, sculptures made of ice, ice, waterfalls and ice slide boards.
The international sculpture contest at Zhaolin Park may offer you the chance to be lucky. You should also visit Harbin to see the Ice Lantern Fair.
Ice and Snow World
Since 1999, the Ice and Snow World have been welcoming the New Millennium. The ice Disneyland has many different themes and is widely known for being the best ice Disneyland in the world.
The Ice and Snow World will be open this year on the 24th of December 2007. It is expected to receive 50,000 people. The Olympics will be the focus of the Olympics for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. It theme “Snow world, Olympics Dreams”The idea is to show the evolution of the Olympics through the use of ice and snow languages, as well as its history from an entirely new perspective. Ice and Snow World will be a combination of snow and sightseeing, entertainment and participation.
The Ice and Snow World covers approximately 400,000 sq. m. They use 120,000 and 100,000 cubic metres of ice, respectively. Six thematic areas will be included in this area, including Olympic Sacred Flame Area and 2009Universiade Areas, Holy Ompus Area, Recreational World Area and Fuwa Paradise Area. You can enjoy more than 2,000 sights or take part in activities in the Ice and Snow World Garden.
You will also find the Ice and Snow World Garden, where you can admire some of the most stunning, grandiose, and charming snow wonders. The ice bars are open for you to enjoy, or you could visit one of the hotels or ice inns. You also have the option to play football or golf on the snowground, or you can go treasure hunting or rock-climbing in the labyrinth. And if you come there at night, the fairyland will be lit up with bright colored lights. There will be all the snow and ice you have ever dreamed of.
Snow Sculpture Fair
20th December 2007 will see the 20th Snow Sculpture Fair open. According to reports, this event will record the highest investment and scale in its history. The theme of the fair is “French Flavor Condense in Harbin”So you’ll see that the sculptures are a copy of French sculptures and buildings. It will make a wonderful pageant for winter, as it is artistic and enjoyable, as well as participable.
The fair will host many cultural activities as well as sculpture contests. Enjoy entertainment such as Taiji (shadowboxing twice a days during fair), ice-ground Dragon Boat Race, Heilongjiang Province Sculpture Competition and National Sculpture Competition.
You will find some thoughtful services at the fair. You will find a multi-functional tourist service center and fast traffic facilities. These include the tour guide service and the skid-proof and muffed shoes covers. Also, you can get souvenirs and maps. They are provided for free and will keep you warm if you use the tourist cars equipped with muffed cushioned.