Crystal metropolis on the Sungari: How Chinese craftsmen turned 400,000 tons of ice into a miracle (5 photos + 4 videos)

Today, 05:37

This year, the festival officially surpassed all previous limits, becoming the largest in its forty-year history.

This season's Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival has officially been recognized as the largest in history. The festival's main venue, the famous Harbin Ice and Snow World, has expanded to an incredible 1,200,000 square meters.

This is exactly double the space occupied by the festival in previous years, allowing organizers to create a truly spacious and comfortable environment for millions of tourists from around the world.

The technical specifications of the construction boggle the minds of even seasoned engineers. A record amount of materials—more than 400,000 cubic meters of ice and snow—was used to construct the crystal palaces and towers.

The ice was extracted from the frozen Songhua River using traditional methods, employing thousands of workers and modern equipment. Thanks to the use of new water deionization technologies, this year's ice blocks possess exceptional transparency, comparable to the purest rock crystal, creating an incredible glow-from-within effect at night.

The hallmark of the 2026 festival was not only the giant 24-meter snowman but also unique architectural replicas of world landmarks. One of the central features was an ice replica of the famous Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan.

Harbin at night has been transformed into an interactive space: thanks to augmented reality and 3D mapping technologies, the ice buildings literally come to life, changing colors and shapes to the beat of the music, transforming the park into a set for a science fiction film.

For active recreation enthusiasts, the organizers have prepared the longest ice slide in the park's history – 521 meters long. The design includes 24 parallel lanes, significantly reducing queues.

Furthermore, a 120-meter snowflake-shaped Ferris wheel towers over the icy city, offering panoramic views of the sparkling valley. Despite extreme temperatures reaching -30 degrees Celsius, the tourist flow is only growing: in the first three days of the new year, Harbin welcomed more than 1.4 million visitors, an 11% increase over last year.

Harbin has once again proven that art and hard work can transform the harsh northern winter into one of the most sought-after and technologically advanced tourist destinations on the planet.