Ice palaces
Lit at night.
Rincewind42 from China — CC BY 2.0 · Tomskyhaha — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rincewind42 from China — CC BY 2.0 · Elijah Wilcott — CC BY-SA 4.0 · John Pannell from Watford, UK — CC BY 2.0 · John Pannell from Watford, UK — CC BY 2.0 · Tomskyhaha — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Elijah Wilcott — CC BY-SA 4.0
The centrepiece of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, the largest winter festival of its kind in the world: a park rebuilt every winter on the north bank of the Songhua River, with full-size palaces, towers and slides made from blocks of ice cut from the frozen river itself. It first opened to celebrate the new millennium in December 1999 and in recent seasons has covered more than a million square metres; its ice buildings are lit in colour at night, so visitors come in the afternoon to see them by day and then glowing after sunset. Highlights include ice slides, some hundreds of metres long, a snowflake-shaped Ferris wheel and shows on ice stages; it was a sub-venue of the opening of the 2025 Asian Winter Games, and its indoor ice halls run all year. The season usually runs from late December to late February; an adult ticket for 2025–26 was about CNY 328, with opening from 10:00 to 21:30, per visitor guides. Night temperatures drop below minus 20 °C, so wear many layers and cover your face and hands.
Lit at night.
Very long.
A Ferris wheel.
West Sun Island, north bank of the Songhua River, Harbin
It usually opens from late December to late February, from 10:00 to 21:30; an adult ticket in the 2025–26 season was about CNY 328, per visitor guides.