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China’s Magical “Ice City” Draws Visitors From All Over the World

By Michael Nordine
Read time: 3 minutes

The first time you see it, you might have trouble believing it’s real: an entire city of ice sculptures that rival brick-and-mortar architecture in their complexity. Harbin, the capital of China’s northernmost province, Heilongjiang, has been hosting its International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival since 1985, and the annual tradition has become ever more ambitious and ornate in recent years. Millions of visitors come every winter to marvel at the festival’s Ice and Snow World, generating more than $800 million in revenue. And it’s easy to see why so many people brave temperatures as cold as -40 degrees Fahrenheit to do so.

What To Expect

Large-scale ice sculptures at the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in China
Credit: kikujungboy CC/ Shutterstock

Billed as the world’s largest ice and snow sculpture festival, Harbin’s Ice and Snow World opens each year around Christmastime and — thanks to the city’s extremely cold climate — continues through mid-February, depending on weather. There are replicas of world-famous structures like the Colosseum and the Great Sphinx, all of them illuminated in vibrant colors to add to the spectacle, which features 8 million square feet devoted to the installation of palaces, bridges, and other icy marvels. It takes thousands of workers to cut the 460,000 cubic feet of ice blocks required to create Harbin’s Ice and Snow World.

And there’s more to do than simply walk around and admire the sculptures. Those with extremely strong constitutions can take a polar plunge, artists can participate in the snow-carving competition, and couples looking to tie the knot in a unique way can get married in a mass wedding ceremony taking place on January 2 each year. 

A History of Ice

Aerial view of festival attendees admiring ice sculptures illuminated in bright colors at night
Credit: STR/ AFP via Getty Images

Harbin, a city of nearly 6 million people, originally held an ice lantern festival in 1963 — a nod to the region’s tradition of carving lanterns out of ice blocks sourced from the Songhua River, which dates back to the Qing dynasty. This eventually turned into the first modern Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival more than 20 years later, and the snowy soiree has become increasingly popular in the age of social media.

From afar, it looks a bit like an icy version of Disneyland — large, not-quite-real buildings lit in brilliant greens, reds, blues, and other vibrant colors that give the whole affair an air of unreality. There are mazes, functional slides, and even white foxes you can take pictures with. Part of the city has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest indoor ice and snow theme park, though the main attraction remains the outdoor festivities of the Ice and Snow World that take place throughout January and February.

Other Ice Festivals

Ice sculpture of traditional building at Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan
Credit: seiksoon/ iStock Editorial via Getty Images Plus

While Harbin’s International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival is perhaps the most famous winter festival, it’s far from the only celebration out there. The Sapporo Snow Festival dates back even further, to 1950. This February, the northern Japanese city will be celebrating the festival’s 75th anniversary with hundreds of ice sculptures, some of which reach over 80 feet tall. 

Other highlights include the SnowDays Festival in Banff, in the Canadian Rockies; the International Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge, Colorado; and the Quebec Winter Carnival in Quebec City, Canada, the most European city you can visit in North America. 

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