Snowy and icy Harbin welcomes the Year of the Pig

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is the first day of the year on the lunar calendar and falls on Feb 5 this year. It is a good opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in Chinese cultures. With snow sculptures, ice sculptures, and lantern show, Harbin, capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang province, will be showcasing all the typical elements of Chinese New Year with the coming of this festive holiday.

Snow festival to woo tourists in Harbin Ice and Snow World

For the 35th time, Harbin showed why it's one of the world's wintry capitals with the opening of the famed Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival on Jan 5 at Harbin Ice and Snow World, which continues through the end of February.

Fireworks illuminate Harbin Ice and Snow World at the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. [Photo/VCG]

One of the most important parts of the festival is Harbin Ice and Snow World, a 600,000-square-meter park, which has opened for the 20th consecutive year. It has become the calling card for the northern city. In the park, tourists can view hundreds of frozen copies of well-known traditional Chinese and Gothic architecture, along with a 45-meter-tall tower, all of which are made from ice. When the night falls, the crystal-clear buildings never fail to amaze, with their record-breaking scale illuminated by multicolored lighting effects.

With new and exciting events planned, as well as old favorites, this year's ice and snow sculpture festival promises to be the most exciting one yet. This year, Harbin Ice and Snow World boasts four unique highlights for visitors to enjoy:

1. Relive ice and snow buildings from the past 20 years

Many architectural designs in the park get their inspiration from reviewing the changes in Ice and Snow World over the past 20 years, depicting the iconic landscapes and designs from each previous year's festival .

2. Combining ice sculptures with mobile phone games

One area at the Harbin Ice and Snow World was designed in the theme of a mobile phone game, where the battle map and characters from the game are presented in the form of ice sculptures.

3. Rich outdoor entertainment

Harbin Ice and Snow World has launched over 30 ice and snow entertainment activities for visitors to take part in. In addition to traditional activities such as ice dragon boats and ice bicycles, new items have been introduced to provide guests with unique experiences. These include snowmobiles, snowfield speedboats, and bicycle races on ice.

4. Exciting indoor activities

The park has also launched many indoor entertainment projects, such as a cinema screening 6-D films, dancing competitions, children's drama, and various stage performances with an exotic charm. It is also expected that more than 2,600 performances will be staged.

Address: The west side of Sun Island, Songbei district, Harbin, Heilongjiang province

Period: Jan 5 to end of February

Opening hours: 11:00-21:30

Ticket price: 330 yuan ($48)

Tel: +86-451-58561403

Website: www.hrbicesnow.com (Chinese)

Transportation: Bus Nos. 54, 85, 211, 212, 216, 219, 346, 551, 552