For two weeks every year, the city of Harbin in China’s Heilongjiang province is put on ice. The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, which takes place from December to February (exact dates change year by year) is the largest of its kind in the world — with attendance numbers to match. But just how big is it? Find out below, in our by-the-numbers guide to this cooler-than-cool annual party.
1963: Year of the first Harbin Ice Festival
33: Number of Harbin Ice Festivals that have taken place. The festival was halted for a number of years during China’s Cultural Revolution, and resumed in 1985.
10,000: Number of people tasked with constructing Harbin’s massive ice city each year
750,000: Size, in square metres, of Harbin’s ice city
180,000: Volume, in cubic metres, of ice used to construct the frozen wonderland
46: Rough height, in metres, of the tallest ice sculpture at the festival
10 to 15 million: Number of visitors to the festival each year
250: Length, in metres, of the 2007 Harbin Ice Festival sculpture of Canadian-born physician Norman Bethune that was awarded the Guinness World Records title of world’s largest snow sculpture.
-13: Average daytime temperature, in degrees Celsius, of Harbin. (Nighttime lows can dip into the -30s.)
11: Number of couples who participated in a group wedding at the festival in 2015. A group wedding ceremony takes place annually.
Getting there
Does the Harbin Ice Festival sound up your alley? G Adventures can get you there. Check out our limited-edition departures to the Harbin Ice Festival here.
