Large Ice and Snow Festivals in the World

February 23, 2012 | Travel

Harbin Ice Festival

Every country highlights tradition of festivities that made them popular and dominant over the other.

Regardless of weather or the type of climate, country folks strive to reinvent their ways to make their place popular.

Every now and then, festivals can be seen all over the world, each creating different impressions and instilling wonderful memories in the heart of the people.

China’s Harbin International Ice Festival

In China for example, people look forward for the celebration of one of the four biggest ice festivals in the world, the Harbin International Ice Festival.

  • Started since 1963, this festival is being held for one month, starting on the 5th of January in Harbin, the northeast part of China (commonly called the Iced City), where temperature drops to negative 16.8 degree Celsius during the winter season. The event can start earlier or ends late than scheduled depending on the weather.
  • Some of the most common attractions during the festival were sculptures in various sizes curved from the ice that ranges from the customary ice lanterns to exceptional designs using the modern technology available.
  • City parks held most of the attractive exhibits especially in Zholin Garden where ice lanterns were displayed for everyone to see.
  • Ice buildings, monuments, palaces, and larger-than-life statues and ice sculptures on the other hand glow with their splendor at the Sun Island Park.
  • For a huge assortment of snow activities like skiing and winter swimming however, the Grand World of Ice and Snow is the best place to see.

Japan’s Sapporo Snow Festival

Another big snow festival can be seen in Japan during the month of February.

  • Known as Sapporo Snow Festival, this tradition started in 1950 at Odori Park when 6 lass from the local high school built statues in the park.
  • Held for 7 days starting from 6th of February, this highly commercialized event is being visited by millions of people all over the world to witness the spectacular display of ice sculptures and statues that lines the street of Susukino, the Odori Park and the floor of Tsudome.
  • The main venue of Sapporo Snow Festival is the Odori Park; in here dozens of large ice sculptures can be seen, most are even wider than 25 meters and others are higher than 15 meters.
  • There are also hundreds of snow statues in smaller sizes that line the place.  At the street of Susukino, about a hundred of snow statues in various designs and sizes are being lit daily until the end of the festival.
  • The Tsudome site on the other hand hosts a variety of activities including snow rafting and has snow slides and other family oriented activities for everyone’s enjoyment.

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