HARBIN is a city in northeast China that gets the chilly winter winds from Siberia across the border. Temperatures drop to -16.8’C or even-35’C in winter, making it an ideal place to host the world’s biggest ice and snow festival.

The month- long Harbin international ice and Snow Sculpture Festival kicks off on January 5 every year. Ice sculptors from around the world compete to build gigantic ice sculptures using ice blocks taken from the nearby Songhua River. They use chisels, ice picks and various types of saws to carve famous monumental landmarks, mythical or fantastical figures and even fun-filled ice slides. The sculptures are lit up at night with multi- coloured lights, making it a grand spectacle. Last year’s theme for the festival was ‘Pearl on the Crown of Ice & Snow’.

While the icy artworks are put up in various places around the city, the main exhibition area is the Ice and Snow World. The exhibition usually opens earlier and stays on longer than the official festival dates.

At the heart of the city is Zhaolin Park where there are ice lantern displays after dark. The festival originated from the local custom of freezing water in buckets to create ice lanterns lit up by candles.

People can enjoy other activities like winter swimming in the Songhua River, alpine skiing, skating and more during the festival.