Harbin, China

On the map of the People's Republic of China, there is a place looks like a flying swan with spread wings while its provincial capital resembles a dazzling pearl under the neck of the swan. Yeah, the pearl is harbin,which has a temperate monsoon climate with four distinct seasons, but claims to be best in summer and winter, especially winter. So you are lucky to be here in season .As the capital, it is a heart cross point of politics, finance and culture; a picturesque city with beautiful Songhuajiang River going through it. Known as "Oriental Moscow "or "Oriental Pairs". Why? The reasons are as follows. It lays to about 125 degrees East Longitude and 46 degrees North Latitude, about the same latitude as Venice in Italy. It is marvelous that the Water City and the Ice City are in the similar latitudes .more importantly, what is it that makes this city likes a star, the answer is the ice and snow world. With 190-day freezing season and its bitterly cold winters, the northeastern city of Harbin is known as a "City of Ice". But the bitter cold never cools the local people’s enthusiasm for enjoying the winter scenery and all kinds of winter activities. Harbin is best known for its appealing winter landscape, stimulating winter sports and various dazzling ice and snow art works, such as ice lanterns, snow sculptures and ice carvings  Ice and Snow wonderland first built in the year 2000 on Frozen Songhua River makes up the most recognizable landmark of the city in winter, now the wonderland is build on the north bank of Songhua River. Why so many other neighboring cities sharing the similar natural condition and resource didn’t come up with the idea?  Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival is held annually from January 5 to February 5. But the Ice and Snow World always open from Christmas Eve. Boasting the world's largest man-made ice and snow buildings, the exhibition is built on the northern bank of the Songhua River and covers an area of more then 300,000 square meters. A total of 80,000 cubic meters of ice and 120,000 cubic meters of snow are used in the park.Ice lanterns are not necessarily "lantern-like." In a broad sense, they refer to any work of art made of ice and light, including buildings, carvings, slides, waterfalls

Glancing across the frozen Songhua River, you will find a brightly-lit stretch of buildings glittering in the distance. Red, yellow, blue, green, orange and purple lights wove together, illuminating the dark night. The distance makes it look like a wonderland; a castle in a fairy tale or a mirage.  In the Ice and Snow World, you will watch and enjoy the tallest, most beautiful, grandest and most charming ice and snow spectacles. You will experience curious ice and snow activities, such as seeking for the treasure in the maze, climbing the ice rocks, snow golf and snow football. You will also have fun with about 30 cultures and integrate yourself with the charming and grand scene of the decorative night laps and you will feel that you are traveling in the paradise on earth.  The best way to warm up is to play ice slides. Besides eyeing the wonderful

now sculptures, you can also enjoy a dining in the restaurant constructed from ice, or a nice hot cup of coffee at the island's coffee house.  Although two years has passed, I still remember the feeling when I first time come to this place where the ice sculpture and me had the first "date"… this fairyland impressed me deeply; how should I say, I love this city which born my mother and take care of her, such kind of love beyond description.In deep winter it becomes a sparking world of ice and snow, a city molded in jade and silver. The houses, built in different styles, are all mantled in snow. In the parks are many sculptures carved in ice, looking like the crystal palaces in fairyland . I love this place, just like a stubborn child, there is nothing you can do about him. on the one hand, The ultra-low temperature make people shiver through the cold day, on the other hand, the beautiful scene attracts thousands of visitors from home and abroad, maybe that is the most unique aspect of this place.

Harbin has a temperate monsoon climate with four distinct seasons, but Harbin claims to be best in summer and winter, especially winter. So you are lucky to be here in season. the sculptures of the harbin ice lantern festival took the shapes of Chinese monuments: the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, sacred Buddhist mountains. Until this winter, Mickey Mouse, Donald duck and Winnie the pooh come to this ice and snow world, when I see these lovely thing, it brings my childhood memories back, I watched a lot of cartoons when I was a kid, like Winnie the pooh. 

 The ice sculpture show is different every year, each year it has special theme, with the improved technology, this show is becoming more and more fascinating. By day, The colored ice lanterns and sculptures sparkle like crystal in the winter sunshine. When the night curtain falls, they gently glow, the gorgeous colors lighting the dark night. These ice and snow art works come in all shapes and sizes. They can be as small as a mouse or as big as a hi-rise building. The designs range from human figures, animals and flowers to castles and many other ingenious creations,there's little chance of the artworks melting, as Harbin's location near the Russian border provides icy temperatures for most of the year, ice sculptures have become a unique art form in harbin. All visited to ice and snow world, were freshened by the air and fascinated by the magical winter wonderland ，if you have the opportunity to travel here,which will give you a taste of exotic atmosphere and will provide you with the journey of a lifetime.