Harbin has a short history in China, the city being only 110 years old. Despite its short history, the festival itself has roots dating back to 1963, originating as Harbin’s traditional ice lantern show and garden party. During the cultural revolution in China the festival was interrupted. It later resumed in 1985 with Zhaolin Park announced as the new venue for the annual event, transforming into the major festival it is today. The festival also normally spans over three very important Chinese festivals: New Year’s Day, Spring Festival, and Lantern Festival making it an even more significant Chinese event.
The annual festival is a very important part of northeastern Chinese culture; it represents Harbin’s own local customs and cultural foundations and Chinese creativity. The light encapsulated multi-coloured ice sculptures are the festival’s main feature as works of ice art and are arranged according to different themes depicting Chinese classical masterworks, European folk tales and customs among others.
Every year the theme of the festival changes, although some sculptures have been recreated over the years due to overwhelming popularity. You can see a variety of objects each year such as buildings, gardens, flowers, waterfalls, European style churches, lions, tigers, dragons as well as different artworks depicting the year’s chosen theme. In the day they are magnificent to behold, but by night they contain a heightened level of beauty and amazement for visitors. Many of the structures are also interactive such as castles, mazes and slides, allowing visitors an elevated tourist experience.
Due to the popularity of the festival, Disney decided to sponsor and partner with the event in February of 2009, showcasing many Disney characters, princesses as well as Disney themed buildings and moments. It is incredible to know that a festival in Northern China was recognized by Disney and fortunate enough to have them as a featured sponsor.
Officially, the festival starts on January 5 and lasts till late February. However, exhibits often open earlier and stay longer, weather permitting. While ice sculptures are erected throughout the city, there are two main exhibition areas:
• Sun Island is a recreational area on the opposite side of the Songhua River from the city, which features an expo of enormous snow sculptures.
• Ice and Snow World is an area open in the afternoon and at night which features illuminated full size buildings made from blocks of 2–3' thick ice taken directly from the Songhua River. The park usually opens from late December to late February. In 1999, the first Ice and Snow World opened to public to celebrate the millennium. Each year the park has to be rebuilt with newly designed ice buildings and snow and ice sculptures. In recent years, the park has been as large as 80 hectares.
Construction
Harbin is located in the northernmost Heilongjiang province and is its capital city; home to just under 11 million people. Siberian Russia lies just a few hours to the north, the reason for the frigid weather. The average temperature in the winter is -16.8°C (1.8°F), with lows dropping as much as -38.1°C (-36.6°F). This arctic climate allows this festival to operate functionally and for such an extended period of time, also providing the city with an abundance of natural ice and snow to work with. Harbin has been known as ‘Ice City’ due to the city having the longest and coldest winter in China, perfect for hosting its own spectacular ‘Ice City’ exhibited within the festival.
Swing saws are used to carve ice into blocks, taken from the frozen surface of the Songhua River. Chisels, ice picks and various types of saws are then used by ice sculptors to carve out large scaled ice sculptures, many of them intricately designed[10] and worked on all day and night prior to the commencement of the festival. Deionised water can also be used, producing ice blocks as transparent as glass to make clear sculptures rather than translucent ones. Multicoloured lights are also used to give colour to ice, creating variations on sculptured spectacles when lit up especially at night. Some ice sculptures made in previous years include: buildings and monuments of different architectural types and styles, figures including animals people and mythical creatures, slippery dips or ice slides and lanterns Apart from winter recreational activities available in Harbin, these exquisitely detailed, mass-produced ice sculptures are the main draw card in attracting tourists around the world to the festival.