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    The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival

    Written by: Ismail Umar
    Posted on: January 13, 2017 | | 中文

    An ice sculpture of the Imperial Palace in Beijing

    The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival takes place annually in the city of Harbin, which is the capital of Heilongjiang Province in China. Home to the biggest ice sculptures in the world, it attracts over a million visitors, as well as professional ice sculptors from various countries including the US, Canada, Japan, Singapore and Russia, who compete in the festival every year.

    Harbin Ice Festival in China

    A 26-metre ice castle built for the festival (source - Daily Mail)

    The festival originated back in 1963 as a relatively small-scale event called ‘Harbin's Traditional Ice Lantern Show and Garden Party’. Several years later, in 1985, an annual festival of an international standard was initiated, which has grown immensely over the last decade to become the largest ice and snow sculpture festival in the world. Similar festivals in other countries include the Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan, the Quebec Winter Carnival in Canada, and the Holmenkollen Ski Festival in Norway. What sets the Harbin festival apart, though, is the scale and size of its sculptures, which are up to 48 meters in height. The festival covers an area of over 750,000 square metres and contains up to 180,000 cubic metres of ice.

    Harbin Ice Festival in China

    A worker pours water onto ice cubes to make them stick together (source - Daily Mail)

    The process of building these enormous structures requires a great deal of time, manpower and resources. The festival is sponsored entirely by the government, with funds allocated from both the city and provincial treasuries. Harbin’s location in northeast China accounts for its arctic climate, which provides abundant natural ice and snow. Over 10,000 workers prepare sculptures from huge chunks of ice that are dragged out of the nearby Songhua River. Chisels, ice picks and various types of saws are used to carve out massive but intricate ice sculptures, which take several days to form.

    Harbin Ice Festival in China

    Workers pull a giant ice cube out of the Songhua River (source - Daily Mail)

    The sculptures range from animals and cartoon characters to replicas of world famous landscapes and monuments, including the Imperial Palace in Beijing, the Empire State Building in New York, the Colosseum in Rome, and a 340-meter-long slide that alone took around 500 builders to complete.

    Harbin Ice Festival in China

    A massive ice sculpture of the world-renowned Colosseum in Rome (source - Boston.com)

    The 33rd or latest edition of the Ice and Snow Festival was officially launched on 5th January, 2017, and is expected to continue till March, covering both the Chinese New Year on 28th January and the Lantern Festival on 11th February. This year’s theme, titled ‘Bright Pearl of the Crown of Ice and Snow’, features a variety of activities including an ice lantern garden party and art festival, group wedding ceremonies, as well as various sports events, including ice hockey, badminton, ice swimming, taekwondo, and a cross-country skiing competition.

    Harbin Ice Festival in China

    The festival also includes an ice swimming competition

    The best time to visit the festival is at night, when all the sculptures are illuminated with computer-controlled LED lights to produce stunning displays of color and design. However, on cold winter nights, the temperature can fall to as low as –35 °C (or –31 °F). Hence, protective clothes including thermal gloves, scarves, earmuffs, snow glasses, and boots are recommended.

    Harbin Ice Festival in China

    At night, the sculptures are illuminated with colorful LED lights

    Cost-effective guided tours are also available. Popular options include the ‘1-Day Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival Tour’ and the ‘4-Day Harbin Ice Wonderland Experience and Short Ski Tour’.

    Harbin Ice Festival in China
     
    Harbin Ice Festival in China

    A girl enjoys an ice slide at the festival

    Harbin Ice Festival in China
     
    Harbin Ice Festival in China

    An indoor cafe at the festival

     


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021