Harbin Ice & Snow Festival 2027
A city built out of river ice and lit from inside.
Countdown to Harbin 2027
Dates
When is Harbin Ice & Snow Festival?
Harbin Ice & Snow Festival 2027 falls from Tuesday, 5 January 2027 to Sunday, 28 February 2027 (expected; it can move by a day).
The festival opens officially on 5 January each year; the parks usually open in December and close in late February depending on temperatures.
Date checked against chinahighlights.com
| Year | Dates | Length | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 January – 28 February 2026Mon – Sat | 55 days | Past |
| 2027 | 5 January – 28 February 2027Tue – Sun | 55 days | Expected |
See every festival by date in the 2026 festival calendar and 2027 festival calendar.
The story
What it is, and why it matters
- Type
- Art & Spectacle
- Tradition
- Secular & Civic
- Where
- Harbin, Heilongjiang
- Crowd
- 18 million per season
- UNESCO
- Not inscribed
Blocks cut from the frozen Songhua river are stacked into buildings, then backlit with LEDs. At night the whole site glows and the temperature is minus thirty.
The festival has run since 1963 as a lantern show, and since 1985 in its current form. Ice and Snow World — the main site — is built from scratch each December and dismantled in late February, using around 200,000 cubic metres of ice.
Sun Island holds the snow sculpture exhibition, which is more figurative and less architectural. Zhaolin Park does the traditional ice lanterns, lit from inside with candles as well as LEDs.
Culture
Traditions, food and music of Harbin
Traditions
What actually happens
- Ice Lantern Art Fair — Zhaolin Park's carved and internally lit blocks.
- Ice and Snow World — full-scale buildings, slides and towers, lit at night.
- Snow Sculpture Expo — figurative carving on Sun Island.
- Swimming in the Songhua — the winter swimming club, every single morning.
Food
The table, widened
- Guo bao rou, borscht-influenced Harbin red sausage, and sugar-coated hawthorn on a stick.
- Hot pot and lamb skewers, sold from stalls that are themselves ice structures.
Music
Sound of the crowd
Fireworks, ice-sculpting competitions, and a very large light-and-sound show on the main site. The swimming club has its own brass band, which plays at dawn.
Religion
Why this date
None. This is a municipal tourism festival created in the 1960s, and one of the clearest cases of a state successfully inventing a tradition — Harbin's Russian-built cityscape supplies the aesthetic, the festival supplies the reason to visit.
History
How it survived
Started as a lantern exhibition in 1963 and interrupted during the Cultural Revolution. Reinstated in 1985, it became the model for every Chinese ice festival since, including the Sapporo and Quebec winter carnivals' later collaborations.
History
How it got here
Started as a lantern exhibition in 1963 and interrupted during the Cultural Revolution. Reinstated in 1985, it became the model for every Chinese ice festival since, including the Sapporo and Quebec winter carnivals' later collaborations.
1963
Lantern show
The first ice lantern exhibition is staged in Zhaolin Park.
1985
Modern form
The festival is reinstated with ice architecture on the Songhua river.
2001
Snow expo
Sun Island adds a dedicated snow sculpture exhibition.
Today
Two months
January and February, with roughly 18 million visitors a season.
Travel & practical
Visiting Harbin for Harbin
Getting there
HRB, 35 km from the city. Book flights and hotels by November.
Where to go
Ice and Snow World after dark; Sun Island by day; Zhaolin Park for the lanterns.
Practical notes
Minus 25°C is normal. Insulated boots, thermal layers, and keep batteries inside your coat.
Plan the trip with free AltFTool tools
FAQ
Harbin Ice & Snow Festival: common questions
Straight answers to what people ask most about Harbin Ice & Snow Festival.
How cold does it actually get?
January averages around minus 18°C, with nights well below minus 25°C.
Is it open all winter?
Yes, from early January until the end of February, when the ice begins to melt.
Where does the ice come from?
Cut from the frozen surface of the Songhua river in blocks by hand.
Also in January 2027
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