The Ice-decorated CityHarbin

Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang in North China, is famous for its ice and snow. Being the famous “Ice City” in northeastern China, Harbin attracts the visitors from home and abroad. Despite its northernmost location in China, it was embroidered with heavy historical and cultural background. It was the birthplace of Jin (1115 1234) and Qing (1644 1991) Dynasties, the latter of which had a very considerable influence on modern Chinese history. At the end of the 19th century, Russia built the terminus of the Middle East Railway here. Later, more than 160,000 foreigners from 33 countries migrated to Harbin, promoting the development of a capitalist economy in the city. The economy and culture of Harbin achieved unprecedented prosperity at that time and the city gradually grew into a famous international commercial port. Assimilating external culture, Harbin created its unique and exotic cityscape. The majestic St. Sofia Orthodox Church and Zhongyang Dajie each built in a European style have the effect of bringing you into an “eastern Moscow”. Even though you are sure to be attracted by various exotic buildings, the Dragon Tower which embodies the wisdom of the Chinese people is a must on your journey.

Harbin Ice and Snow World

First set-up by the Harbin Municipal Government in 1999, Harbin Ice and Snow World is by far the largest ice and snow art exhibition in the world. It is commonly referred to as possessing four of the key “mosts”: the most art attractions, the most beautiful night views, the most recreational activities and the most forms of entertainment. Furthermore, the festival is constantly evolving and each year brings with it a new theme, providing visitors with a totally unique experience from one year to the next.

The ice carvings at the Harbin Ice and Snow World are regarded as some of the world’s finest examples of ice art, with visitors able to admire some of the largest and most majestic ice-sculpted masterpieces. Each of these ice carvings are designed in some way related to the festival’s theme, enabling travelers to sample a variety of cultural flavors. For example, in its first year the festival’s layout was designed around the idea of “Prosperous China and High-flying Longjiang”, with the ice carvings depicting the rapid development of the country. In 2005, the theme was “Friendship between China and Russia”, with all the sculptures fashioned in a typical Russian style. Among them were replicas of some of Russia’s most famous architecture, such as the East Palace, and Moscow’s Red Square.

One of the highlights for any visitor to the festival is to visit the site at night when multicolored lights set underground illuminate the sculptures, revealing a whole new colorful dimension to the exhibits. The contrasts of the bright and dazzling lights against the dark night sky make the works look all the more spectacular.

Harbin Ice and Snow World is also a centre for various forms of recreation and entertainment, with a variety of opportunities on offer. Visitors will be amazed by the magnificent ice buildings, including an ice maze, ice bar, and even an ice hotel. If you are a fan of snow sports, then there is also the chance to participate in activities such as ice rock-climbing, skating, skiing, sliding, snow fights, ice golf, and ice archery. In addition to all this, special performances based on the festival theme are put on throughout the event which will no doubt greatly entertain those in search of something a little less physically-demanding.

Harbin Ice and Snow Festival

The Festival, established in 1985, is held annually from January 5 and lasts for over one month. Harbin is the capital city of Heilongjiang Province and this is China’s original and greatest ice artwork festival, attracting hundreds of thousands of local people and visitors from all over the world.

The city’s location in northeast China accounts for its arctic climate which provides abundant natural ice and snow. Subsequently, the “Ice City” of Harbin is recognized as the cradle of ice and snow art in China and is famous for its exquisite and artistic ice and snow sculptures. The fabulous Ice Lantern Festival was the forerunner of the current festival and is still the best loved part of the overall event in the opinion of all who come to Harbin each year.

The Derivation of the Ice Lantern: The first Ice lanterns were a winter-time tradition in northeast China. During the Qing Dynasty, the local peasants and fishermen often made and used ice lanterns as jack-lights during the winter months. At that time these were made simply by pouring water into a bucket that was then put out in the open to freeze. It was then gently warmed before the water froze completely so that the bucket-shaped ice could be pulled out. A hole was chiseled in the top and the water remaining inside poured out creating a hollow vessel. A candle was then placed inside resulting in a windproof lantern that gained great popularity in the region around Harbin.

From then on, people made ice lanterns and put them outside their houses or gave them to children to play with during some of the traditional festivals. Thus the ice lantern began its long history of development. With novel changes and immense advancement in techniques, today we can marvel at the various delicate and artistic ice lanterns on display.

Today’s Ice Lantern: Nowadays, ice lantern in broad sense refers to a series of plastic arts using ice and snow as raw material combining ice artworks with colored lights and splendid music. The specific patterns of ice lantern include ice and snow sculptures, ice flowers, ice architectures and so on.

The Sun Island Park is the site of the Snow Sculpture Exposition displaying a wonderful snow world. It has the world’s largest indoor ice and snow art museum and it opens to the public from November every year.

Harbin Ice and Snow World came into being in 1999 and is one of the world’s largest ice architecture parks. The inspiration for the ice and snow sculptures there usually is derived from traditional Chinese fairy tales or world famous architectures such as the Great Wall, the Egyptian Pyramids, etc.

Zhaolin Park is a “must see” during the Harbin Ice Festival because it has a traditional program that shows the most excellent ice lanterns. With water, lights and the natural ice from the Songhua River running through Harbin as the material, the ice lanterns are made by freezing water, piling up ice or snow, then carving, enchasing, decorating, etc. The ice lantern park touring activities have been held here annually since 1963 and is said to be one of the most wonderful 35 tourist attractions in China. There are numerous pieces of ice artworks in the park arranged in groups according to different themes depicting Chinese classic masterworks, European folktales and customs and so on. A great variety of objects such as buildings, gardens, flowers, waterfalls, European-styled churches, lions, tigers, dragons are carved from ice. In the daytime, the ice sculptures are magnificent and verisimilitude. Moreover, with the interspersion of the sparkling colored lights embedded in the sculptures at night, the park becomes a glorious and amazing ice world.

Today, Harbin Ice Festival is not only an exposition of ice and snow art, but also an annual cultural event for international exchange. Every year, there are many ice sculpture experts, artists and fans from America, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Russia, China, etc. gathering in Harbin to participate ice sculpting competitions and to communicate with each other in the ice and snow world. Also, Harbin ice lanterns have been exhibited in most of China’s main cities as well as in many countries in Asia, Europe, North America, Africa and Oceania. For more than 40 years, Harbin’s natural resource of ice and snow has been fully explored to provide joy and fun for visitors to the city. Now during the festival, many sporting competitions are also popular including ice-skating, sledding and so on. Weddings, parties and other entertainments are now very much a feature of this ice world, adding their own contribution to the celebrations of this great festival of art, culture, sports and tourism.

Sun Island Scenic Area

Being famous both home and abroad, the Sun Island Scenic Area lies on the north bank of the Songhua River. This dainty area, surrounded by blue water, boasts crystal lakes, wooden rockeries, beautiful flowers and exotic buildings. In summer, the comfortable weather makes it the first choice to avoid summer heat, and in winter, the spot is a paradise for ice-snow travel. Every year, the Harbin International Snow Sculpture Art Expo held here exhibits enthralling ice or snow sculptures and architectures, attracting thousands of visitors.

Covering an area of 3,800 hectares (9,390 acres), this scenic area consists of the Sun Island and some other small islands. The area, with more than twenty scenic spots, can be divided into three parts. Animals’ world is located in the north and west. The centre of the garden is featured by flowers, lakes and ice-snow beauty. And in the south, ice and snow series, exotic Russian series, a gallery and a memorial garden can be found. The amazing Sun Gate is composed of five white ellipse gates, with four small gates on the sides and a big one in the center. In front of the gate lies the symbol of the scenery-a tremendous stone named the Sun Stone.

The Deer Garden, the Swan Lake and the Squirrel Island in the north and west make the zone an animal’s world. The Deer Garden is like a natural painting: some spotted deer run or walk on the slope while the others drink water from the stream. Facilities like slides, swings and the labyrinth lead children to a wonderland. In the Squirrel Island, visitors can feed the lovely squirrels in person. Near the Squirrel Island, elegant black swans, whooper swans, tundra swans, mandarin ducks, swan geese and other aquatic birds are fostered in the Swan Lake. With a man-made karst cave, the flying Sun Waterfall is near the paradise of animals.

Interestingly, the Flower Garden near the Sun Gate is divided into twelve parts according to the signs of the zodiac. Walking clockwise from north to south, every visitor can find out his own constellation in the garden. Twelve breeds of cloves in the Clove Garden blossom from May to July, driving birds to sing for them.

The Ice Sculpture Garden recaptures many awarded works in the Harbin International Snow Sculpture Art Expo. With an area of 5,000 square meters (1.23 acres), the Ice and Snow Art Hall is the largest indoor one in the world. Exquisitely carved snow and ice works can be appreciated even in hot summer. Ice and Snow Culture Exhibition Hall provides detailed information for those who are fond of snow and ice.

The picturesque Cloud-water Gloriette is a must-see scenery spot. This gloriette relies on the Sun Lake and has two storeys on the water. In the gloriette, visitors get a whole view of the lake and the Sun Hill while breeze gently brushes their faces. In the center of the Sun Island, five lakes surround an isle and connect the Sun Hill. Weeping willows and the gloriette reflect in the clear water, making the area more charming. Near the Cloud-water Gloriette, visitors can enjoy the Japanese flavor in the Harbin-Niigata Friendship Garden. This garden is a typical Japanese courtyard featured by streams and a wooden bridge, blooming with flowers in spring and being quiet and graceful in summer.

Exotic Russian series are situated in the south of the Sun Island. Dining in the Russian restaurant, strolling on the Russian style streets and buying some craftworks are unexpected surprise for visitors. The Russian Artist Village shows Russian paintings while a gallery near the Ice and Snow Culture Exhibition Hall displays Chinese paintings. As the largest private collection exhibition hall in China, the Russian Art Exhibition Hall presents many pieces of Russian artworks. Visitors can watch Russian films and dances and listen to the Russian songs in the Russian Royal Golden Theater.

In summer, travelers can swim in the Songhua River, and sunbathe or have a picnic on the beach near the scenic area. In winter, skating and playing ice hockey are both good choices.