Harbin Ice Festival, China
This festival started in 1963 in Harbin (the capital city of the Heilongjiand Province in northeast China), this festival lasts over a month starting on January 5th. Some exhibits start to go up as early as November depending on the weather in which case they can be viewed early. There were a number of interruptions during the cultural revolution, but the event was resumed in 1985 and has been annual ever since. Today many ice sculpture experts and artists from America, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Russia and China congregate in Harbin to participate in competitions and network with each other.
The arctic (Siberian) climate provides the perfect environment with plenty of snow and ice for the festival ice artworks, which are combined with coloured lights and music. There are other forms of entertainment too such as ice-skating, ice hockey, skiing and sledding and many weddings and parties are held too.
The festival has its roots in the Ice Lantern Festival which has its origins in the Quing Dynasty (1644 – 1911) when local peasants poured water into buckets and left them outside to freeze. A hole was chiselled in the top and any water in the middle poured out leaving a hollow interior in which a candle could be placed creating a windproof lantern. These lanterns were placed outside their houses or used by children. The lanterns today have evolved into delicate works of art.
There are three main places to view the ice works: the Sun Island Park, Harbin Ice and Snow World, and Zhaolin Park.
- Sun Island Park – hosts the Snow Sculpture Exposition – the worlds largest indoor ice and snow museum
- Harbin Ice and Snow World – a huge ice architecture park that started in 1999. Inspiration is taken from traditional Chinese fairy tales and world famous architecture such as the Great Wall of China and the Egyptian Pyramids. The ice buildings are massive and are amazingly detailed
- Zhaolin Park is home to the ice lanterns which are a major highlight of the whole event. The lanterns depict wide ranging objects such as buildings, flowers, waterfalls, and animals such as lions, tigers and dragons. Whilst they are great during the day they come alive at night when lit.
The Harbin festival is one of four major ice and snow festivals held in the world. The others being:
• Japan’s Sapporo Snow Festival (one week in February)
• Canada’s Quebec City Winter Carnival (17 days in Jan/Feb)
• Norway’s Ski Festival (3 days in March)
If you go – don’t forget your thermals as the temperature can be 40 below zero!
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