Liene's Adventures

Going to Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Winter Festival was on my list the second I found out we would be moving to China. Although I am not a person who seeks out cold weather, I could not pass an opportunity to see the world’s largest snow and ice sculptures in person. 

This annual event in Harbin had grown exponentially since its humble beginnings as an Ice Lantern Show in 1985. It had since become the world's largest ice and snow festival followed by Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival, Canada's Quebec Winter Carnival (which we attended in 2014) and Norway's Oslo Holmenkollen Ski Festival.

Yes, I knew we would be facing extreme weather as Harbin was considered to be one of the coldest large cities in the world - its average winter temperature was -30C (-22F). And lack of precise information in English (for planning purposes) presented its own challenges. But it wouldn’t be me if I allowed that to stop me! A plan was made, and we committed to it!

There were a lot of firsts on this trip. As we had moved to China just barely a month ago, a lot was still unknown. But we were about to figure it all out! China was famous for its large, efficient and well-connected train network. And that was how we were traveling – by a bullet train from China’s capital Beijing that would cover the 1300km (807mi) distance to Harbin in just 4.5 hours. 

We left extra early to leave plenty of time for all the pre-departure procedures that we were not yet familiar with. However, at 7 in the morning the station wasn’t yet overcrowded, and all the security and passport checks (several of) went smoothly. And soon enough we found ourselves browsing the station’s coffee shops for drinks and snacks to pass time. 

The bullet train was fast and comfortable. Just like on a plane, passengers could buy cold and hot drinks, snacks and even meals. Watching the scenery pass by at 300km/h (186mi/h) was quite fun. Overall, the 4.5 hours passed by very quickly and in no time, we found ourselves standing in Harbin station ready to brave the cold!

We ordered Didi (China’s version of Uber) and went to the hotel to drop off the bags and put on 5 layers of thermal shirts and pants. The type of clothing we had on was going to make it or break it, so we had to get it right! Puffy and round like snowmen, we rolled out onto the street and to the metro station, where a subway would take us to the main festival grounds – the Ice and Snow World.

 

ICE AND SNOW WORLD

Once we emerged from the underground tunnels, a magical ice world stood in front of us. This year’s 1.2-million-square-meter park was 20 percent larger than the previous year, using more than 400,000 cubic meters of ice and snow.

The work the ice sculptors had done was astonishing! Glossy, blue ice buildings stretched into the sky. There were ice cathedrals, ice vehicles, ice houses. And to stick with the theme, the walkways and stairs leading to attractions all around the festival grounds were also cut out of ice and snow. If you slipped and fell on your butt – that was on you, so be warned! 

There were also plenty of other things to do, apart from admiring the sculptures. The festival grounds had various shapes and sizes of ice slides for both kids and adults. And my boys took full advantage of them!

There were ice bumper cars, banana “boat” rides on icy lake (pulled by a jeep), and a whole bunch of other free and paid attractions.

The large Snowflake Ferris wheel was considered to be a must-do activity. Although we would have loved to ride it, the never-ending 2hr long line for it was not something we considered to be worth standing in.

For those who got chilly, there were several warming tents set up, as well as large food halls with various food trucks with hot drinks and meals. And after sipping a hot fruit tea, one was ready to head out into the cold again! 

I have to mention that there were also a few snow sculptures here (not just ice) that visitors could see. However, the main Snow Sculpture Art Expo was happening elsewhere, which we would visit tomorrow. The organizers had displayed a few snow sculptures here for those who, possibly, could not attend all the events of the festival.

After we had wandered the grounds for nearly 3 hours, we lined up for an indoor show called “The King’s Chariot” that I had pre-booked for us. I figured this would be a great way to warm up a little bit, while also getting to see something new. Although we did not understand the Chinese dialogue, the visual effects and storyline made it easy to follow along. Overall, I would give the show 4 out of 5 stars because my boys said that the warriors didn’t fight enough and gave up way too easily. Agreed.

After we exited the theater building an hour and a half later, a whole different world awaited us outside! The sun had set, and all the ice sculptures were illuminated in various colors. It looked amazing!

Although we had already walked most of the grounds during daylight, we headed out into the freezing cold again to see it all one more time – lit up and looking much different. And even the Ferris wheel had its own mini light display.

The boys wanted to do the ice slides again, because now they were colorful ice slides, so it wasn’t the same as during the day!

And we also caught a little glimpse of a parade, as well as found some hot tubs for those who were totally frozen to the bone…

Unbeknownst to us, we had spent another several hours here and it had come to closing time. We made our way to the metro and our hotel where the kids enjoyed some Tom and Jerry cartoons (the only show that did not include talking in Chinese), and I plotted out the plan for the next day. 

 

SNOW SCULPTURE ART EXPO

On the 2nd day, we continued our snowy adventures, albeit at a slightly different location. If Ice and Snow World was geared towards impressive ice sculptures, then today we were going to see some amazing snow sculptures. 

Located at Sun Island Park, the International Snow Sculpture Art Expo used about 120,000 cubic meters of snow to carve more than 260 groups of snow sculptures. Many of them reached over 20 meters (65ft) tall. As a matter of fact, Harbin holds the Guinness record for the largest snow sculpture which was made here during the festival in 2007.

Many of the park’s pathways crisscrossed left and right, and soon we were completely lost. Getting a map would have been a great idea at the entrance because without one we had no idea of the layout of the park. Luckily, some local tourists pointed us in the direction of the maps, and once that was resolved, we were ready to explore!

The details of these sculptures were just mind-blowing! There were people with wind-blown hair and animals with wavy fur – every little detail perfected, and snow staying exactly where it was placed, creating a masterpiece that our minds could not understand. This was not clay, or playdough, or rubber… this was fragile snow, ready to blow into the wind and come apart at a moment’s notice. Yet it didn’t. 

It is also worth mentioning that artists from many countries were represented in creating these snow and ice sculptures – China, Russia, Australia, France, USA, Spain and others.

Just like yesterday, there were many activities for visitors at this location as well. Of course, my boys did not pass up a single ice slide. But we could also try out ice bicycles and ice sledding.

A small section of an amusement park was open, which offered bumper car rides, a merry-go-round and snow tubing. All of these activities were free of charge and included as part of the Expo’s admission fee. 

And what I was most surprised about was just how few people were here! As you can see from the pictures – there was barely anyone in the background, if at all. And we were here on a weekend! In my mind, the Snow Sculpture Art Expo was equally as impressive as the Ice World that we saw yesterday. People were definitely missing out because this was 100% worth seeing! 

The main sculpture of the Expo was impossible to miss. Stretching 103m (337ft) long and 30m (98ft) high, the sculpture "Thumbs Up, China" was the centerpiece. A panda astronaut took center stage, surrounded by landmarks such as the Great Wall of China and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.

Speaking of pandas, I was not aware that Sun Island had a giant panda pavilion that opened here just a year prior in 2025. As we were walking around, we saw signs with QR codes inviting people to sign up for timed panda viewing. That is exactly what we did, and before leaving Sun Island, we went to see Zhi Shi and Zhi Ma – two pandas in their indoor winter exhibit. Although I had seen giant pandas before in a few zoos, it was very special to meet them right here in China, which was their true home. 

While we arrived at Sun Island via subway, I wanted to take a slightly different mode of transportation back to the central part of Harbin. Somewhere here was a cable car (gondola) going over the frozen Songhua River, offering beautiful views of the landscape. We approached a security guard at the park’s exit. Using my minimal knowledge of Chinese phrases in combination with hand gestures, we inquired about the direction of the gondola entrance. He pointed straight, but then he pointed left and started talking enthusiastically. Hmm, so is it straight or left? He just nodded and pointed left. We started walking left, but he held us back, pointed straight, but then pointed to the left again. We were so confused. Braving the hold, I pulled off my gloves and dug into my bag for a phone with a translator app. I could barely push any buttons, but at least we figured out what he was trying to say. The gondola entrance was straight, but the guard was trying to tell us that if we hurried, we would see a beautiful sunset coming from the left as we rode the gondola. Chinese people were really very helpful and sweet! 

There was no line for the gondola, and after a few minutes we were on our way across the frozen river looking at the beautiful sunset the guard was talking about.

 

WINTER CARNIVAL

The central part of Harbin city had many winter activities of their own. This side of the river offered a newer addition to the Winter Festival, called Harbin Winter Carnival. This area was all about lots of ice and snow fun for both big and small. There were many different activities offered here stretching several kilometers long on the frozen Songhua River.

They had skating and ice bicycles. Sledding and snow tubing. Ice bumper cars and large snow tubes pulled behind cars… Many of these activities were the same ones we had already experienced at Snow and Ice World and at the Snow Sculpture Art Expo. Except here, they all required paid tickets. It was a good option to try out some rides for those who did not attend the main events and just wanted to have some fun. As we had done plenty of these activities free of charge over the past 2 days, we just took a short stroll through here, taking in the festive atmosphere, and then headed on.

 

 

ZHAOLIN PARK ICE LANTERN SHOW

Our next stop, just a short stroll away, was Zhaolin Park. This was a free event to attend and took place at Harbin’s city park. Although lesser known, this was one of the 3 main venues during the festival. But Zhaolin Park differed from the Snow and Ice World and the Snow Art Expo in fact that the work and ice sculptures here were made by undergraduates and artists less experienced than those at the 2 main venues.

As we arrived here after dark, all the ice sculptures were lit up like lanterns along the park’s pathways, hence – the Ice Lantern Show. And they weren’t any less spectacular than at other venues. The details were very intricate and truly impressive. Zhaolin Park wasn’t big, so we made sure we walked every path and saw each and every one of the sculptures. 

In contrast to the main events, this seemed more like a local family gathering spot. Families were out with their kids skating on the frozen pond and sitting on park benches with hot drinks and home-packed picnic meals. 

 

ZHONGYANG PEDESTRIAN STREET

After we completed our rounds at Zhaolin Park, we took on one last attraction of the day – Zhongyang Pedestrian Street. Built in 1898 by Russians, Zhongyang was originally called 'Chinese Street'. It measures 1,450 meters (almost a mile) long, and it is the longest pedestrian street in China.

This central avenue was all cobblestone, lined with lots of old European-style architecture, hotels, shops, and restaurants. Surprisingly (or not?) Russian themed and “Made in Russia” shops were vastly represented here with many signs both in Mandarin and Russian. We even stopped to listen to a street musician performance – in Russian! Zhongyang felt more like a European street with heavy Russian influence. 

Also, it seemed that all the people had flocked to Zhongyang Street after other festival venues closed for the night. It was extremely crowded here! Probably the most crowded I had experienced out of any places we had visited in Harbin. And with night approaching, the temperature was dipping considerably, so visitors were drifting in and out of the stores and cafes that lined the street, just to warm up for a bit.

We decided to buy a “Gold Medal” – a traditional Harbin treat that consisted of a slightly sweet pancake / waffle looking thing stuffed with hot, stretchy cheese. They made them right in front of us, so we got steaming, hot “medals” which were really tasty and warmed us all up quickly. 

One of the most popular attractions near the pedestrian street was St Sophia’s Cathedral. Built in 1907 (by Russians, of course) as an orthodox church, it now housed Harbin Architecture Art Gallery with thousands of photographs showing Harbin city’s past, present and future.

The cathedral’s main square was lined with shops and hot food stands. Ladies, dressed in traditional rented folk costumes had their pictures taken by professional photographers. On the other side of the street, large 3D screens played ads and laser shows. It was a big mix of a little bit of everything.

We, however, were done. My boys had started to get cranky and tired. They did not want to walk anymore, at all. It had been 2 very long days. We found a food court and rewarded them with some sweet treats, after which we called a Didi to take us back to the hotel. 

With this, I had thought, our Harbin adventures would end. However, our train back to Beijing wasn’t leaving until 3PM the next day, so we had quite a bit of free time the next morning. We could either sleep in until noon or get up early and go see something. And who would think sleeping in was a great idea on vacation? Of course, we would be up bright and early! 

 

SIBERIAN TIGER PARK

Although I had heard a lot about the Siberian Tiger Park as a “must-see” attraction while in Harbin, I had not included it in my original itinerary because I figured we just would not have time. However, we found time by getting up bright and early on our day of departure. The kids were not happy, and my husband tried to pretend to look happy, but I could see right through him! We booked a Didi for the 25-minute ride to the Siberian Tiger Park right for their opening at 8:30AM.

Siberian Tiger Park is the world's largest artificial breeding base of Amur tigers. The park has succeeded in breeding over 1,000 tigers, with more than 300 purebred Siberian tigers visible to visitors. Notably, it featured open-field safari zones where tigers roamed freely in spacious enclosures—unlike the cages of traditional zoos. While not without controversy, as it always was with captive animals, the animals here seemed quite healthy and happy.

We purchased tickets to board a sightseeing bus for up-close encounters with Siberian tigers. For an extra charge we could feed the tigers meat strips via window holes. Kids had a ton of fun doing that. But I have to say that these tigers were a little chubby and picky. Wouldn’t you if you had rolling meat buses drive by all day long?

After the safari tour, we could take the raised pedestrian bridges and walk along the enclosures at our own pace. Something you would never see in the US or Europe were the live chicken cages where for 150RMB (about $22) tourists could buy a live chicken and send it down a chute into a tiger enclosure and then watch it be chased down by a tiger and eaten. Kind of brutal, but part of the cycle of life, I guess. It is just usually a part that is left out of the tourists’ eyes, but not here. Tigers had to eat too!

We could not linger here for too long, as our time was limited. We grabbed a Didi for a 25-minute ride back to the hotel, changed out of our snow gear, packed the bags and made the hotel’s 12 o’clock check-out right on time. Yay us!

Harbin’s train station was much smaller in comparison to Beijing, and without any delays, we were on board another bullet train, watching the scenery outside pass by us at 300km/h. 

Our first trip in China was a success. We figured out the trains, the stations, the hotels, and Didi rides… We hit all the attractions we planned and even more. The people were helpful and friendly. And it was all much easier than I had anticipated and even stressed about. And there will be many more travels around China to come! The only request I got from my boys was for it to be a place a little warmer than Harbin…