The World's Largest Ice Sculpture Festival Begins in Harbin!

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In Harbin (northeast of China), the world's largest festival of ice and snow sculptures began. It is held annually, and each time it is visited by about 10-15 million people, but this time it will last until February 28. The festival covers an area of about 600'000 square meters. The highest ice sculptures reach 46 meters in height. More than 10,000 workers are involved in the processing and delivery of ice and snow.

It is noteworthy that the Harbin Festival surpasses similar events in Sapporo, Norway and Quebec in its scale, size of sculptures and illumination.

Initially, only the Chinese were participants in the festival, but in the last decade it has become international and has gained a competitive character. Each year, the size of the sculptures is becoming bigger, each participant is trying to make their work larger and more beautiful than their rivals. Complex technologies are used, for example, computer-controlled LEDs.

The whole festival is divided into three large areas:

1. Island of the Sun - it presents snow sculptures that are open to public during daytime.


2. The world of ice and snow is represented by large-scale ice sculptures, such as palace buildings, the Great Wall of China, etc. It is better to visit it at night when bright lighting is on.


3. In Zhaolin Park, more than 1000 ice sculptures are exhibited, such as ice lights with interior lighting, magic figures and animals. This section of the festival is mainly focused on children. Fun activities such as ice slide and ice skating are provided for them.