Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival 哈尔滨国际冰雪节 has existed since 1963. It was interrupted during the Cultural Revolution and restarted in 1985. Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang, is far enough north for the ice to hold. Blocks cut from the Songhua River are carved into walls, towers and lanterns; at night they are lit from inside. Snow sculpture stands in the parks beside them.

The festival opens in early January and runs into February, overlapping the Spring Festival when the dates allow — see Chinese New Year. It is not a lunar feast and it has no fixed day on the traditional calendar — which is why this hub shows it without a date, rather than inventing one.