Harbin Ice and Snow Festival

[The China Guide]

If Disney were ever to open a Winterland, they would have a hard time beating Harbin. 

Since 1963 Harbin has hosted the Ice and Snow Festival which includes an entire themed city cast from ice blocks cut from the Songhua river. The festival includes an international contest in which ice carvers from around the world compete for prizes and in the process create an amazing sculpture garden in Zhaolin Park. 

The venues are completely different from day to night. During the day the carvings and slides can be seen as a snowy winterland, but at night the colored lights frozen into the blocks of ice create a colored fairyland.

Plane tickets and hotels must be booked in advance as the event draws huge crowds every year. The festival will open around Christmas and goes until early February.

The China Guide offers a variety of customizable tours on its web site: www.thechinaguide.com. To begin planning your tour, email [e-mail].