30th Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival

Lights and sculptures from the 30th Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China.

The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival originated from local Harbiner traditional ice lantern show garden party in winter since 1963. It was halted for a number of years during the Cultural Revolution, but has resumed and declared an annual event at Zhaolin Park on January 5, 1985.

Harbin is located in Northeast China, and the climate is influenced by the cold winter wind from Siberia. The average temperature in summer is 21.2 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Farenheit), and -16.8 degrees Celsius (1.76 degrees Farenheit) in winter. Annual low temperatures below –35 degrees Celsius (–31 Farenheit) are not uncommon. (EPA)

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