Preparations for the Ice and Snow Festival in China

The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival will officially open for its 35th year on January 5th

Although the preliminary voting for the ice and snow sculptures have began since December 25th, the annual Harbin China International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival will officially open on January 5th this year. The festival will last until the end of February, or early March if weather allows it. Also, a huge fireworks show will be displayed after the opening ceremony.

This year’s edition will be the celebration of its 35th year. The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is regarded as one of the world's top winter festivals, next to the Quebec Winter Carnival in Canada, Norway's Holmenkollen Ski Festival, and Japan’s Sapporo Snow Festival. The festival was first celebrated in 1985 and was inspired by Heilongjiang's traditional lanterns – carved out of ice and illuminated by candles.

The Harbin China Ice and Snow Festival held this year will feature nearly 100 programs, activities and winter events, as well as four theme parks, and it will open with the theme “20-year Grand Ceremony & Review”.

Yearly, with weeks before the beginning of the winter festival, workers are tasked with collecting and transporting nearly 200,000 cubic meters of ice cut from the frozen Songhua River. Moreover, this year’s festival will span over 600,000 square meters.

Among the multitude of activities available, which can be viewed on the official Ice Festival Harbin website at https://www.icefestivalharbin.com, visitors can also enjoy the works of sculptors competing from 12 different countries in the annual ice and snow competitions. Admire the huge Buddha snow statue made of more than 4,500 square cubic meters of snow, the 340-meter-long Northern Lights-themed ice slides, walk up the gigantic illuminated ice castles, and enjoy a 3D light show.

 

Source: cnn.com