Ice Festival Harbin
Ice Festival Harbin
4.5
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
About
Harbin, the capital of China's frigid Heilongjiang province in the northeast, plays host to China's biggest ice sculpture festival every January. The event is rooted in the region's ancient tradition of ice lantern making, and the modern-day incarnation of these lighted vessels are giant, elaborate sculptures made of ice, plastic and coloured lights. Many tourists are unprepared for just how cold the region can get in winter, but the temperatures are perfect for allowing these grandiose ice exhibits from local and international artists to survive outdoors. Winter sports such as ice skating and sledding are popular side attractions.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
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Michelle_leha
Guangzhou, China141 contributions
Jan 2016 • Friends
This is one of the two main attraction in Harbin. It is beautiful beyond words!
As I were from a much warmer country, here are few tips for those who want to be well prepare for the trip:
o Bring baby warmers for feets and hands. Buy warm patches sell in drugstores and put it all over you (even inside your gloves and socks)
o Put snow tracks on the bottoms of boots to avoid slip and slide
o No need to purchase tickets in advance, the ticket office is in door, warm, not so crowed.
o 2x thermals, snow fleece, scarf, hat and down jackets. Feet: Cotton sport socks, skiing socks, Goretex water proof boots. Hands: Cotton glove liners, under gloves, skiing gloves
o Keep battery and camera close to your body to keep warm, bring extra battery
o Bring a garbage bag or sheet of cardboard for kid for a better experience on the ice slides. In the ice park, they sell the plastic sheet, but that is very dangerous to use as the speed is very fast (in the Sun Island it is ok to use as the slide have much longer foot run)
o Go from 3pm to see both day and night.
o Great English speaking driver in Harbin: Joe 18646543552 (he charged 700RMB/day, and 200 RMB for one way from and to airport). He provides head pads, shoe spikes, warm drinks as well as assisting to buy tickets).
As I were from a much warmer country, here are few tips for those who want to be well prepare for the trip:
o Bring baby warmers for feets and hands. Buy warm patches sell in drugstores and put it all over you (even inside your gloves and socks)
o Put snow tracks on the bottoms of boots to avoid slip and slide
o No need to purchase tickets in advance, the ticket office is in door, warm, not so crowed.
o 2x thermals, snow fleece, scarf, hat and down jackets. Feet: Cotton sport socks, skiing socks, Goretex water proof boots. Hands: Cotton glove liners, under gloves, skiing gloves
o Keep battery and camera close to your body to keep warm, bring extra battery
o Bring a garbage bag or sheet of cardboard for kid for a better experience on the ice slides. In the ice park, they sell the plastic sheet, but that is very dangerous to use as the speed is very fast (in the Sun Island it is ok to use as the slide have much longer foot run)
o Go from 3pm to see both day and night.
o Great English speaking driver in Harbin: Joe 18646543552 (he charged 700RMB/day, and 200 RMB for one way from and to airport). He provides head pads, shoe spikes, warm drinks as well as assisting to buy tickets).
Written 12 January 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Colleen1968
Napier, New Zealand17 contributions
Jan 2016
We took the overnight train to get to Harbin. It arrived at 11.30pm but there were plenty of taxis still waiting outside. We spent 4 nights. This was a perfect amount of time as we got to take things slowly. A minimum of 2 nights to see the main sights is needed. You absolutely must go out the Snow Sculptures park on Sun Island and The Ice Amusement World. Zhaolin Park is a must for your first night, as well as wandering along the pedestrian street towards the river. Walk across the river to the other side and take a cable car back. Spend some time watching Happy Valley on the river too (or join in). Make sure you have warm clothes!! It is freezing!! I wore a quality puffer coat and was warm with good base layers. My tramping boots and thick socks kept my feet warm. There are plenty of stores selling outdoor gear. We discovered a shop that sold Anta outdoor clothing which sold puffer coats at half the price of similar ones like Northface. It also was good enough to keep my husband warm and toasty during the frigid days and even colder nights.
Written 6 January 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mandy H
Dubai, United Arab Emirates202 contributions
Jan 2020 • Solo
There are actually 3 different sites for the Ice and Snow Festival. Each one has their own entry fee. 2 are on Sun Island, and one is near the walking street and Sophia church area.
Ice Festival (called Ice and Snow Expo I think): About ¥300 to get in, best done from 3pm onwards so you can do the sledding activities but also experience sunset and the lights coming on. You can easily spend 3+ hours here. If you don’t do activities, then plan on 2hours for wandering, photos and a hot meal. There are large toilet facilities (only squatties) and some of them are not maintained often enough so bring your own toilet paper. There are many different food huts inside the venue where you can go in and warm up and eat. Mostly Chinese food (yum! Dumplings!) but there was 1 western place too (maybe KFC?) Didn’t notice anywhere for a hot coffee or hot chocolate though. As the sun drops, so do the temperatures! For clothing, make sure you dress in layers - base layer (like a thin turtleneck shirt and long johns), mid layer (like a regular shirt or cotton trousers) and then Outer layer (Lined knitted hat that covers your ears, mittens, heavy winter coat and snow pants) most outdoor store will have all of that, Uniqlo has good base layers.
*Note for people who didn’t grow up in cold weather - mittens keep your hands warmer than gloves. Snow will melt into your jacket / pants and make you colder, so make sure you coat is water resistant in addition to being warm. Technology HATES being cold. At -20c your battery can go from 80% to 0% in about 2 photos.
Snow expo - is daytime only (9am-3pm) and at the other end of Sun Island (on google maps, it’s in the “Scenic area” of Sun Island). You need to pick up tickets at the booth that is near PolarLand, and then walk across the bridge to the starting point. There is a little coach on the other side that can take you out to the far side, and then you can walk back, or vice versa. There are amazing snow sculptures, and a bit of sliding available here. I’ll add a more detailed review on the “Harbin Snow Fair” listing. 2+ hours needed
The final location (small ice sculptures and little kid activities) is a few blocks from the walking street, and a down the road from St Sophia church. I just walked through it quickly on my way back to the hotel, but there was some nice stuff there.
Ice Festival (called Ice and Snow Expo I think): About ¥300 to get in, best done from 3pm onwards so you can do the sledding activities but also experience sunset and the lights coming on. You can easily spend 3+ hours here. If you don’t do activities, then plan on 2hours for wandering, photos and a hot meal. There are large toilet facilities (only squatties) and some of them are not maintained often enough so bring your own toilet paper. There are many different food huts inside the venue where you can go in and warm up and eat. Mostly Chinese food (yum! Dumplings!) but there was 1 western place too (maybe KFC?) Didn’t notice anywhere for a hot coffee or hot chocolate though. As the sun drops, so do the temperatures! For clothing, make sure you dress in layers - base layer (like a thin turtleneck shirt and long johns), mid layer (like a regular shirt or cotton trousers) and then Outer layer (Lined knitted hat that covers your ears, mittens, heavy winter coat and snow pants) most outdoor store will have all of that, Uniqlo has good base layers.
*Note for people who didn’t grow up in cold weather - mittens keep your hands warmer than gloves. Snow will melt into your jacket / pants and make you colder, so make sure you coat is water resistant in addition to being warm. Technology HATES being cold. At -20c your battery can go from 80% to 0% in about 2 photos.
Snow expo - is daytime only (9am-3pm) and at the other end of Sun Island (on google maps, it’s in the “Scenic area” of Sun Island). You need to pick up tickets at the booth that is near PolarLand, and then walk across the bridge to the starting point. There is a little coach on the other side that can take you out to the far side, and then you can walk back, or vice versa. There are amazing snow sculptures, and a bit of sliding available here. I’ll add a more detailed review on the “Harbin Snow Fair” listing. 2+ hours needed
The final location (small ice sculptures and little kid activities) is a few blocks from the walking street, and a down the road from St Sophia church. I just walked through it quickly on my way back to the hotel, but there was some nice stuff there.
Written 27 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
go100
Penang Island, Malaysia3 contributions
Jan 2016 • Solo
For first time visit, not to miss these :
1) Snow Sculpture -- RMB 240 ( day time )
2) Ice Sculpture -- RMB 300 ( best view after 6pm onwards)
You will need at least 3 - 5 hours to cover fairly adequately for each site.
Do avoid "1-day " tour tat cover many unnecessary itineraries .( so called
optional items ).
Most hotels can help you arrange "tour" that only cover Snow or Ice Sculpture. For such arrangement, transport fare is already included per above admission ticket. Alternatively, many taxis available, go on yr own. Both places are about 30 min from City centre. Both places are actually only about 15 min apart and can be covered in the same day if you only have short stay.
Do Visit " Central padestrian street " at nite . There are several snow / ice sculpture too but is free. You can book above tours too. There are many other tour offers to neighbouring places / ski resorts etc but be aware of tourist traps though as you may land up paying more on the so called "optional items".
1) Snow Sculpture -- RMB 240 ( day time )
2) Ice Sculpture -- RMB 300 ( best view after 6pm onwards)
You will need at least 3 - 5 hours to cover fairly adequately for each site.
Do avoid "1-day " tour tat cover many unnecessary itineraries .( so called
optional items ).
Most hotels can help you arrange "tour" that only cover Snow or Ice Sculpture. For such arrangement, transport fare is already included per above admission ticket. Alternatively, many taxis available, go on yr own. Both places are about 30 min from City centre. Both places are actually only about 15 min apart and can be covered in the same day if you only have short stay.
Do Visit " Central padestrian street " at nite . There are several snow / ice sculpture too but is free. You can book above tours too. There are many other tour offers to neighbouring places / ski resorts etc but be aware of tourist traps though as you may land up paying more on the so called "optional items".
Written 6 February 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DrRima2014
Santiago, Chile6 contributions
Dec 2018 • Solo
I spent 9 days on a trip run by On the Go Tours including Beijing, Longman, Xian and the Harbin Ice Festival and then back to Beijing.
Go to these places, but I would advise you to avoid this tour operator like the proverbial plagues.
First, when I got to Beijing after 2 days of travel, there was no one at the airport with my name on a piece of paper.
That anxiety-producing fiasco took 3.5 hours of difficulty that would have been completely avoided if the guide had my name on a piece of paper. She later had the audacity to say that it was my fault because I should have recognized the flag she SAYS she was holding with the company logo on it. No flag, absurd excuse.
Next, since I was there early, I made friends with several couples on the other bus (of two). They and I wanted to travel together but I was not permitted to ride on the bus that had my new friends. The other guide, Fang, said that the other group voted and did not want me. That was an out and out lie according to all 6 of the other people involved. How insulting and inappropriate.
Next, although the guide for the other bus of travelers and her local guides were information rich, our guide was not. She preferred to speak on the phone, speak with the driver, speak with the local guide or simply tell us that we could "take a rest".
As it happened, our local guides were equally dismal, so much so, in fact, that I told the local guide in Xian after he babbled inconsequential nothings at us for more than an hour that I was not interested in whether his wife liked to cycle or not but I was very interested in the history, culture, architecture, folklore, cuisine and so on of this rich and historical area. I directly told him that neither he nor the national guide were giving us what we wanted and I was personally unhappy. Things got no better. But they were just as bad with the other local guides and our national guide was absolutely no help.
Next, the planning was terrible.
Harbin was -30 C. That is cold. We were dropped off at the Ice Festival for 4 hours and the meeting place had no place to sit down to wait. In fact, we were told its name in Chinese and it was not until I specifically asked to be taken to the spot, rather than told its name in another language that none of us spoke, did we get to see it and take a picture of it.
There were shows and events taking place indoors at the Festival. We were not told about any of them. Not only might we liked to have seen them but we might have found it useful to get out of the cold. No though, no consideration, no interest.
When some of us said that we would like to take a taxi back from the Festival to the hotel we were told that it was too much trouble for the bust to pick us up on the way to the Hot Pot although the bus would pass the Hotel, unless the group voted to pick us up. What????
This was our New Year's Eve Festive Dinner. Really? Too much trouble? I questioned that and was told that it was that way and would not change.
Next, we found our way to the Hot Pot Dinner down a very long, very slippery and very dangerous set of carpet-covered stairs. We got to the door of the restaurant and were told that we were in the wrong place. It was now night, dark, very cold and very upsetting. We were required to walk a long distance down a very dark and poorly maintained uneven walkway to an icy fire escape-type stair case which we then climbed to what appeared to be a back entrance to a corridor of hot pot rooms.
We were ushered into the rooms by about 10 people so we could not sit with our friends and there received the most awful service and terrible food I have had in recent memory.
I am still waiting for some hot tea. The water came as we were leaving.
The food was worse than dismal. None of us could eat it, or wanted to.
The dinner took hours because of the terrible service.
We were told that the signature must-have of this meal was preserved garlic. We asked for it and were told that there was none. That was just one tiny example of the whole dismal event.
That was the worst meal that we had, but the food we were served for lunch and dinner, for example, Christmas dinner, was horrible tourist food of the quality and type I would never eat at home.'
It was, in short, cheap and poorly prepared. I am appalled.
The breakfasts were generally quite nice because the hotels prepared them.
Shopping excursions were embarrassing: over priced tourist junk being passed off as great value and wonderful quality.
At no point did the guides acknowledge that they were receiving commissions, but we were asked to buy Chinese chops and books and photos and what not in a highly enthusiastic way. It would have been great if the enthusiasm to tell us things were anywhere near as high.
The time at Sun Island was similarly poorly planned. So was the time at the Longman Grottos.
The bike ride on the wall at Xian was rather pointless but those of us not riding expected that the guide would walk with us and give us information. We were sadly mistaken.
This pattern of poor planning and disinterest was, unfortunately, the unbroken rule throughout this whole dismal trip.
I will never recommend On the Go Tours to anyone and would, in fact, like half my money back.
I did stay in the hotels, ride the grain, fly on the plane and ride on the bus. But the rest of my experience was not worth paying for. spent 9 days on a tour from Beijing to Xian to Longman to Harbin and back to Beijing run by On the Go Tours.
The places are of great interest, but the commentary and information we got was virtually absent.
Go to these places, but I would advise you to avoid this tour operator like the proverbial plagues.
First, when I got to Beijing after 2 days of travel, there was no one at the airport with my name on a piece of paper.
That anxiety-producing fiasco took 3.5 hours of difficulty that would have been completely avoided if the guide had my name on a piece of paper. She later had the audacity to say that it was my fault because I should have recognized the flag she SAYS she was holding with the company logo on it. No flag, absurd excuse.
Next, since I was there early, I made friends with several couples on the other bus (of two). They and I wanted to travel together but I was not permitted to ride on the bus that had my new friends. The other guide, Fang, said that the other group voted and did not want me. That was an out and out lie according to all 6 of the other people involved. How insulting and inappropriate.
Next, although the guide for the other bus of travelers and her local guides were information rich, our guide was not. She preferred to speak on the phone, speak with the driver, speak with the local guide or simply tell us that we could "take a rest".
As it happened, our local guides were equally dismal, so much so, in fact, that I told the local guide in Xian after he babbled inconsequential nothings at us for more than an hour that I was not interested in whether his wife liked to cycle or not but I was very interested in the history, culture, architecture, folklore, cuisine and so on of this rich and historical area. I directly told him that neither he nor the national guide were giving us what we wanted and I was personally unhappy. Things got no better. But they were just as bad with the other local guides and our national guide was absolutely no help.
Next, the planning was terrible.
Harbin was -30 C. That is cold. We were dropped off at the Ice Festival for 4 hours and the meeting place had no place to sit down to wait. In fact, we were told its name in Chinese and it was not until I specifically asked to be taken to the spot, rather than told its name in another language that none of us spoke, did we get to see it and take a picture of it.
There were shows and events taking place indoors at the Festival. We were not told about any of them. Not only might we liked to have seen them but we might have found it useful to get out of the cold. No though, no consideration, no interest.
When some of us said that we would like to take a taxi back from the Festival to the hotel we were told that it was too much trouble for the bust to pick us up on the way to the Hot Pot although the bus would pass the Hotel, unless the group voted to pick us up. What????
This was our New Year's Eve Festive Dinner. Really? Too much trouble? I questioned that and was told that it was that way and would not change.
Next, we found our way to the Hot Pot Dinner down a very long, very slippery and very dangerous set of carpet-covered stairs. We got to the door of the restaurant and were told that we were in the wrong place. It was now night, dark, very cold and very upsetting. We were required to walk a long distance down a very dark and poorly maintained uneven walkway to an icy fire escape-type stair case which we then climbed to what appeared to be a back entrance to a corridor of hot pot rooms.
We were ushered into the rooms by about 10 people so we could not sit with our friends and there received the most awful service and terrible food I have had in recent memory.
I am still waiting for some hot tea. The water came as we were leaving.
The food was worse than dismal. None of us could eat it, or wanted to.
The dinner took hours because of the terrible service.
We were told that the signature must-have of this meal was preserved garlic. We asked for it and were told that there was none. That was just one tiny example of the whole dismal event.
That was the worst meal that we had, but the food we were served for lunch and dinner, for example, Christmas dinner, was horrible tourist food of the quality and type I would never eat at home.'
It was, in short, cheap and poorly prepared. I am appalled.
The breakfasts were generally quite nice because the hotels prepared them.
Shopping excursions were embarrassing: over priced tourist junk being passed off as great value and wonderful quality.
At no point did the guides acknowledge that they were receiving commissions, but we were asked to buy Chinese chops and books and photos and what not in a highly enthusiastic way. It would have been great if the enthusiasm to tell us things were anywhere near as high.
The time at Sun Island was similarly poorly planned. So was the time at the Longman Grottos.
The bike ride on the wall at Xian was rather pointless but those of us not riding expected that the guide would walk with us and give us information. We were sadly mistaken.
This pattern of poor planning and disinterest was, unfortunately, the unbroken rule throughout this whole dismal trip.
I will never recommend On the Go Tours to anyone and would, in fact, like half my money back.
I did stay in the hotels, ride the grain, fly on the plane and ride on the bus. But the rest of my experience was not worth paying for. spent 9 days on a tour from Beijing to Xian to Longman to Harbin and back to Beijing run by On the Go Tours.
The places are of great interest, but the commentary and information we got was virtually absent.
Written 13 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Aladdin1
Perth, Australia265 contributions
Jan 2017 • Friends
I have wanted to go to this event for years. Finally the day arrived. I visited with my wife and 2 other couples. We stayed at the Holiday in Central which was perfect. The location was great as well as being an excellent hotel. As a bonus it provides a free shuttle to and from the Ice venue. There is a good public bus service to and from the event.
The festival lived up to my high expectations. The large structures were wonderful and the intricate ice carvings as part of the international competition were amazing. Make sure you are there before and after dark as the sculptures are very different with and without lights. Don't underestimate the minus 24 cold or the slippery ice. Snap on crampons at 20Rmb are excellent insurance. I was surprised that it was not crowded. Plenty of people but no difficulty in seeing the items nor getting the warm drinks and food from a variety of outlets. If there is a next time I will have a go on the 300metre toboggan tracks which looked great.
A lifetime dream fulfilled.
The festival lived up to my high expectations. The large structures were wonderful and the intricate ice carvings as part of the international competition were amazing. Make sure you are there before and after dark as the sculptures are very different with and without lights. Don't underestimate the minus 24 cold or the slippery ice. Snap on crampons at 20Rmb are excellent insurance. I was surprised that it was not crowded. Plenty of people but no difficulty in seeing the items nor getting the warm drinks and food from a variety of outlets. If there is a next time I will have a go on the 300metre toboggan tracks which looked great.
A lifetime dream fulfilled.
Written 5 February 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
מוטי ל
Karmiel, Israel563 contributions
Jan 2020
of course harbin's major highlights are the three sites of the ice and snow festival. we spent there 3 days, also for the jewish community sites and the unit 711 concentration camp.
Written 8 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gary L
Ipswich, UK8 contributions
Jan 2018 • Friends
Harbin is the biggest Ice festival in the world & is a must for any bucket list.
The scale of it is unbelievable
Was the highlight of our tour of china which included
the Palaces of Beijing, the Great Wall & the Terracotta Army
I recommend to anyone to take a look into a visit (Jan - Mar)
Trip of a lifetime!
The scale of it is unbelievable
Was the highlight of our tour of china which included
the Palaces of Beijing, the Great Wall & the Terracotta Army
I recommend to anyone to take a look into a visit (Jan - Mar)
Trip of a lifetime!
Written 7 November 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Irma1234
Eglisau, Switzerland15 contributions
Dec 2016 • Couples
Take extra warm jackets! Luckily our hotel gave us some extra jackets otherwise we would have been super cold. We also didn't wear snow shoes, in hindsight probably not the best decision as we ended up sliding all over the place.
The ice statues are amazing. We spent an average of 3 hours there, including the time to pop in and have a warm drink. Check your camera/phone battery before you go for extreme cold temperatures as ours died half way into the night. There are just so many photo opportunities, you don't want to miss any.
All the taxi drivers know the area and can take you straight there. When you are finished there are buses and taxis already waiting in line to pick passengers up.
Overall an amazing experience, if we are in the area next year I would definitely go again. Great if you have children as well - lots to do for them.
The ice statues are amazing. We spent an average of 3 hours there, including the time to pop in and have a warm drink. Check your camera/phone battery before you go for extreme cold temperatures as ours died half way into the night. There are just so many photo opportunities, you don't want to miss any.
All the taxi drivers know the area and can take you straight there. When you are finished there are buses and taxis already waiting in line to pick passengers up.
Overall an amazing experience, if we are in the area next year I would definitely go again. Great if you have children as well - lots to do for them.
Written 4 April 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
420fayem
Hong Kong, China3 contributions
Feb 2016
Visited the Harbin ice festival on 11-12 February. Not so cold, -3 to -6. Were able to walk around for hours with warm attires. Dressing wise, we just had 1 long-sleeve t-shirt, 1 fleece, warm big heavy long jacket that covers your behind and furry hood. Need furry boots, I ordered mine from Taobao and it was sent to me from a seller in Heliongjiang. You will need stockings (for ladies) or two layers of warm socks. Warm thick wind proof gloves.
Had a great English speaking driver, Joe +86 186 4654 3552, you can whatsapp/ wechat him. He organized all my entance tickets, prepare warm pads (for body and toes), non-slip spikes for your shoes/boots. Great recommendation for lunches and dinners, gives very good introduction to Harbin and makes sure you enjoy your trip as much as possible with as little hassle as possible.
Stayed at the Shangri-La, great hotel with great service. Room is standard for 4 star hotel, but staff are excellent. Highly recommend to use the health club, swimming pool and Jacuzzi. Pity the ice palace restaurant cannot open for hot pot due to melting ice. However, we managed to locate a very good hot pot place just opposite the hotel - Shanghai World. Very nice décor and good food, and excellent smiling service.
Overall, very good trip and amazed with the ice and snow sculptures.
Had a great English speaking driver, Joe +86 186 4654 3552, you can whatsapp/ wechat him. He organized all my entance tickets, prepare warm pads (for body and toes), non-slip spikes for your shoes/boots. Great recommendation for lunches and dinners, gives very good introduction to Harbin and makes sure you enjoy your trip as much as possible with as little hassle as possible.
Stayed at the Shangri-La, great hotel with great service. Room is standard for 4 star hotel, but staff are excellent. Highly recommend to use the health club, swimming pool and Jacuzzi. Pity the ice palace restaurant cannot open for hot pot due to melting ice. However, we managed to locate a very good hot pot place just opposite the hotel - Shanghai World. Very nice décor and good food, and excellent smiling service.
Overall, very good trip and amazed with the ice and snow sculptures.
Written 15 February 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello all,
Can someone tell me if the ice and snow world is open till 12 am on new year? If yes, them can I use my normal 12pm to 9 pm ticket to stay in the park till 12 am?
Thanks
Written 24 December 2019
Hi All, thanks to all the past visitors for all the information. Can anyone advise the cost per ticket please? Also where one could purchase online beforehand if possible. Thanks in advance.
Written 30 January 2019
from memory it was about RMB350 per person. We purchased from the hotel booking office the day before. Easy to buy. Included transport to site one way only. just caught a taxi back. no issues.
Written 31 January 2019
hibrar68
Qinhuangdao, China
Is it good to buy tickets online before arriving? If yes,how can i buy
Written 1 January 2019
we purchased from hotel booking office ( Holiday Inn at the entrance to the walking street). No issues. About RMB350PP i think
Written 31 January 2019
Hi, do we need to book tickets in advance or can we buy them at the gates?
Written 10 December 2018
I am sure that you can buy them at the gate, however, we went as an organised group tour of china & our agent booked the tickets as part of the package.
we also went to the snow sculpture festival during the day (different venue) which is also a must see.
then to the ice festival just before the sun went down & it all lit up.
Trip of a life time … you must go
Written 11 December 2018
Para este festival, me gustaria saber alguna recomendacion para la vestimenta. Que tanto frio hace? Cual es la temperatura en Celsius en las noches? La ciudad de harbin tiene hielo por todos lados o solo es el area del festival?
Que tipo de zapatos recomiendan llevar?
Agradezco por sus recomendaciones
Written 2 October 2018
i would be travelling from india to harbin with my family and mother ,my mother has walking issue she cannot walk for long.Ice festival venue have facility for old people to visit like a wheel chair or something.
thanks
Written 16 November 2017
Yes i think so. We saw people in wheel chairs. Check the details online - you may need your own wheel chair - they may not provide any
Written 1 January 2019
Hello,
I am planning to go to Harbin for Christmas this year (23rd to 27th of December). I have read some articles stating that the official opening date of the festival is the 5th of January every year. I have also read that the festival and sculptures are open to visitors from an earlier date. Can anyone confirm this? There is not a whole lot of information to be found about the "unofficial" opening date for the 2018 festival. If the festival is not open to visitors by the 24th of December I will need to change my plans.
Thanks in advance.
Written 23 September 2017
in -30 degree how to use my dslr camera or mobile camera.i want to capture all the beautiful sculpture in sun island without damaging my phone or camera.some people advice me to use plastic bag bt concern about the quality of pictures.
Written 2 December 2016
We used ours - I have a Sony RX100 III - you would need to check the operating specs. Saying that, lots of people had fancy cameras and they seemed to work OK
Written 1 January 2019
magdelene72016
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Hi i would like to know any reliable contact you have for the direct coach from Harbin to China's Snowtown. I am going on next week. Appreciate your reply as soon. Thanks.
Written 1 December 2016
Dear magdelene, you don't need to have a coach while visiting the place. It's very simple, try advice from people already visited the place on TripAdvisor or some other platforms. If you really need an interpreter and guide, I think you will find there at the place. Or you can ask your hotel staff to arrange someone for you.
Mostly at every place in Harbin, you will find people as travel guide. Remember to be vigilant in terms of money grabbing people.
Written 1 December 2016
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