Harbin's Frozen City

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival exhibits open from late December to late February.

Workers carve ice blocks 2-3 feet thick directly from the Songhua River using swing saws. Chisels shape the rest.

Deionised water produces ice as transparent as glass for clear sculptures illuminated after dark. Glass houses, but frozen.

Sun Island displays enormous snow sculptures including a 2007 tribute using over 13,000 cubic metres of snow.

A traditional ice lantern show began in 1963 and resumed on January 5, 1985.

In 2025, the park covered 1.2 million square meters.

The Harbin festival generated 266.17 billion yuan in revenue.

Winter activities include alpine skiing and winter-swimming. The average winter temperature is -16.8 °C.