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Today, it was time for the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.
We leave the famous Snow Town and Head for Harbin with our rented Tank 300. We planned to visit the famous Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival and see what the fuzz is about. Tried all our apps and even Taobao (China’s biggest consumer-to-consumer (C2C) retail platform), and everywhere, the tickets were sold out until January.
Price list Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival
What a bummer. Now, what to do? We got a hint from some discussion forum that you should go queuing there before opening time. This was a great idea. We arrived at 10:15 and the gates opened at 11:00. The queue was long but most of them had pre-purchased tickets and we got our tickets from the counter in 15 minutes. Tickets to the area were 328CNY/person and with a family of four 1312CNY only for entrance. But in the end, I would say it was worth it.
Many times locals need to buy the tickets through the app in advance but for foreigners, the app will not work as it requires a Chinese ID number. Therefore foreigners can buy tickets directly from the counter even if the app states all sold out. Some nice benefits to not having a Chinese ID 🙂
Some tactics when entering the Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival
if you want to try the Snowflake Ferris wheel or the 500m long super ice slide I would say run as fast as you can to be among the first in line. I have heard numerous people complain standing for several hours in the queue for each of them. Here are some hints if you are late or don’t want to queue for many hours. Besides the 500m long super ice slide, there is a shorter one with much less waiting time. I took that one and it was a great experience.
Ski slope opening hours
Another hint is that there is a small hill with a ski slope where you can rent the skis for free. It is a small hill, but trying the first-time skis might be fun. Check the opening hours as the slope is open only at these times. I was not allowed to do so for some reason, as the maximum age was 50 years (I’m 55 years old). Anyway, it was too small a hill for me but the limitation was sort of fun.
Fun to be checked
There are many other places to visit, of course, to see the incredible ice sculptures, ice castles, and ice everywhere. Remember to dress warm if the weather is cold and you need to stay in line longer. They had some cars on the ice track and I was immediately interested. But it came out you are not allowed to drive so I skipped it. The older daughter instead jumped in the car and I think she enjoyed it very much. Also, some small go-carts were available and the kids immediately had some competitive racing.
Recommended links
Playlist
Rainbow colors in the ice pillars in Harbin
She is totally exited to get in a car and drifting on ice with BMW
Poor fish, get trapped in ice. Maybe it will wake up when ice is melting
Where to eat as the body consumes a lot of energy in the cold
I think it was entrance four, which had a lot of restaurants. Chinese and Western foods are available. Also, it is a good place to sit down and have some rest. We enjoyed some Xi’an-style noodles with a Roujiamo bun stuffed with braised pork. We could find some tables with chairs to rest on the second floor after dinner.
Evening came and the lights were lit up.
When the lights went out after dinner, the scenery changed fully. All the ice castles and towers had lights in different colours.
Sightseeing review
爱建路15号
Summary
Pros
- Amazing ice sculptures
- Many activities for kids
- Good restaurant area
- Free ski slope including the skis
- The lights in the night
Cons
- Long queues to the famous spots
- Ticket price to the area
- If not dressed warm you might have an issue
Location
