Ice Art Sculptures in Harbin, China
Harbin is one of the sources of ice and snow culture in the world.
Geographically, it is located in Northeast China under the direct influence of
the cold winter wind from Siberia. The average temperature in summer is 21.2
degrees Celsius, -16.8 degrees Celsius in winter. It can be as cold as - 38.1
degrees Celsius in winter.
The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival has been held
since 1985. It starts from January 5th and lasts one month. There are ice
lantern park touring activities held in many parks in the city. Winter
activities in the festival include Yabuli Alpine Skiing, winter-swimming in
Songhua River, and the ice-lantern exhibition in Zhaolin Garden. Snow carving
and ice and snow recreations are world famous.
The "Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival" is one of the world's four
largest ice and snow festivals, along with Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival,
Canada's Quebec City Winter Carnival, and Norway's Ski Festival.
Every November, the city of Harbin sends teams of ice artisans to the United
States to promote their unique artform. It takes more than 100 artisans to
create ICE!, the annual display of indoor Christmas-themed ice carvings in
Nashville, Tennessee; Kissimmee, Florida; and Grapevine, Texas.
Click on photos to enlarge
