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Visiting the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in 2025? (READ before)

Get 10% off on Klook Code: TRAVELLIVNKLOOK

Considering a trip to the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in China in 2025?

Wondering if it lives up to the hype and if it’s truly worth it?

If you said yes, then keep reading for our honest review, firsthand experience, helpful tips, and everything you need to know to make an informed decision.

We’ll also include a bunch of suggestions for other activities and things to do in Harbin, helping you fill your itinerary and make the most of your visit to this winter wonderland.

What is the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival?

The Harbin Snow and Ice Festival is an annual festival, that attracts over 90 million visitors and is one of China’s most popular winter tourist destinations. Every year China spends approximately 3.5 billion dollars to build this ‘Ice City’ only for it to all melt away 2 months later.

The Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin features loads of different activities including ice bikes, ice skating, ice mazes, tubing, rally and motor bike drift show, snowflake ferris wheel and the world’s longest ice slide.

Getting to Harbin China

Harbin is accessible by train or plane and has an international airport (Harbin Taiping International Airport) that is serviced by most major China cities.

If you’re coming from Beijing, it’s just a 5.5-hour bullet train ride. We chose this option since we wanted to explore Beijing as part of our longer China itinerary (check out our Beijing Itinerary here).

TIP: If you’re traveling from Beijing to Harbin by bullet train, it’s ESSENTIAL to pre-book your tickets especially when the Ice and Snow Festival is on as seats are in demand. The easiest way for foreigners to do this is by using the website / app Trip. It’s user-friendly and allows for easy changes or cancellations. China Rail has a flexible cancellation policy, so you can typically get a refund or change your train up until the travel date which can all be done with the Trip app or website.

Plus, if you book your train tickets through Trip you will also get a discount towards booking your hotels.

Harbin Snow and Ice Festival Image of snowman and snowflake ferris wheel

How to get Tickets to the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival

We pre-purchased our tickets through Klook. This saves you, one missing out, and two lining up to get tickets when you get there. You simply use the QR code and your passport to gain entry.

Get Tickets here: Ice and Snow Festival and you can use our discount code TRAVELLIVNKLOOK to get 10 % off.

Sunset at Harbin Snow and Ice Festival 2025

How to get to the Snow and Ice Festival from Harbin

The quickest and cheapest way to get to the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival is to catch one of Harbin’s Metro trains.

This means staying on the correct train line is SOOooooo important.

You want to stay along the green line 2, and I would suggest staying close to either Peoples Park OR Zhongzhang Street Stations. If you position yourself near these stations, you will also be close to many of the cities attractions, like Harbin Songhua River Ice & Snow Carnival, Sophia Cathedral, Zhongzhang main street and the Zhaolin Park Ice Garden Party.

You can also opt to catch a taxi to the Ice festival, and although taxis and grabs are cheap, the traffic in Harbin is terrible. This is why I would suggest taking the train.

Harbin Metro Map China

Where to stay for the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival

We stayed at the Manhattan Hotel It was directly across from the Sophia Cathedral, above the underground winter market and walking distance to the Harbin Songhua River Ice & Snow Carnival, Zhongzhang Main Street and the Zhaolin Park Ice Lantern Display.

Although this hotel is aged and could definitely use with a refurbish and a good thorough clean, its location and the size of the rooms overruled for us.

We stayed in the Sophia Suite, and this was our view of the Sophia Cathedral!!!

We were 2 x train stops and 10 minutes from the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival.

Check rates and availability here: Manhattan Hotel Harbin

Manhattan Hotel in Harbin - Sophia Suite and Room View
Manhattan Hotel in Harbin – Sophia Suite and Room View

Search ALL Harbin Hotels

Weather in Harbin China in Winter

You probably have the EXPECTECTATION that it’s going to be cold, NOW times that by x 100. It was FREEZING!!

I was also surprised by the short daytime hours. The sun rises at 6:40 am and sets at 4:40 pm.

Harbin Snow and Ice Festival Night Image

During winter, the temperatures in Harbin, can drop to as low as -30 degrees! We were lucky to have -14 degrees, but you can expect temperatures anywhere from -10 to -30 °C degrees.

Tips to stay warm at the Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin

Below are some tips to help you survive the winter chill at the Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin China.

Tip: Head to the underground winter market to pick up all the essentials you will need to stay warm and cozy. You will find ridiculously cheap prices. From jackets, to thermals, tights, gloves, beanies, scarves, boots, the winter market has it all.

The underground winter market is AMAZING – see for yourself!!!

Location: You’ll find the underground winter market opposite the Sophia Cathedral and underneath our Hotel suggestion Manhattan Hotel

Tips to stay warm at the Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin

  • Wear THERMALS, thermal top, leggings, socks. I wore two layers.
  • Bring a thick ski or duck down jacket suitable for temperatures as low as -30 degrees
  • GLOVES are ESSENTIAL and non negotiable.
  • BEANIE is also ESSENTIAL (I used two)
  • Wear a warm scarf.
  • Grab yourself some heat packs for your pockets from a convenience store.
  • Wear SNOW boots lined in sheep skin or fur so that your feet stay warm and dry.
  • Head inside to the food pavilion for a break and to warm up throughout the day.
Images from the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival

When to Visit Harbin China

Open: The Harbin Snow and Ice Festival runs from mid December to early March every year.

Opening Hours: 9:30 – 21:00

Tip: The festival will be the quietest when it first opens at 9.30am – 11.30am and then for the last couple of hours from 7pm – 9pm. Bear in mind that it will be EXTREMELY COLD at the later times, so come prepared if you plan to stay until that time, and take some time out in the indoor food pavilion.

Night time at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival

Tips for visiting the Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin China

Passport

Make sure you bring your passport as you will need this to get into the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival.

Pre-purchase Tickets

The ticket window opens 30 days prior and you can get your tickets here: Snow and Ice Festival in advance.

Discount code: TRAVELLIVNKLOOK to get 10 % off.

Booking Slides and Ferris Wheel

Harbin’s Ice and Snow Festival features the world’s longest ice slide, an impressive 500 meters long. Another popular attraction is the snowflake Ferris wheel.

Both of these attractions are free, making them incredibly popular among tourists.

To ride the Ferris Wheel or the Slide, you must book a time slot via the QR code or WeChat. However, as of 2025, foreigners cannot book directly through the QR code. We had to ask for assistance to help us navigate the process on WeChat.

Essentially, you have to join the WeChat channel, scan your ticket’s QR code, and the option to reserve attractions will then be available

New time slots become available every hour on the hour. Despite being ready the moment tickets opened, we were unable to secure a spot three times.

I recommend starting as soon as you arrive, ideally between 10 AM and 1 PM when it’s quieter, or later in the evening after 7 PM. We only tried during the busiest times of the day and realized too late that it wasn’t the best approach.

Phones & Cameras

In very cold weather, both phone and camera batteries tend to drain much faster than usual. Cold temperatures cause the chemical reactions inside the battery to slow down, reducing its efficiency and causing the battery to lose charge more quickly. For devices like phones and cameras, this means you may find yourself running low on battery power after just a few hours of use, even if you haven’t been using them extensively. The drop in temperature also affects the battery’s ability to retain a full charge, and in extreme cold, it can cause the battery to fail altogether until it’s warmed up again. To mitigate this, it’s a good idea to keep your devices in an inside pocket close to your body or use an insulated case to help protect them from the cold.

Drones

Drones are permitted at the festival, however, sadly, I saw many people using them irresponsibly, flying too low and too close to both people and the ice sculptures. I recommend using good judgment, common sense and being considerate of those around you. I frequently lost signal and noticed my battery life draining quickly due to the cold. The last thing you want is for your drone to fall from the sky and potentially hit someone.

If you plan to fly a drone, stay as close to it as you can and plan a short flight. The cold weather definitely impacted both my battery life and the connection between the remote and receiver.

Dining

There is a massive dining pavilion, which has two levels of food selections. You can find just about any type of food here from local Chinese restaurants to KFC and Starbucks.

11 x Other Things to do in Harbin China

1. Harbin Songhua River Ice & Snow Carnival (Free entry and pay to play) Here you will find all sort of ice and snow activities on the frozen Songhua River.

Harbin Songhua River Ice & Snow Carnival

2. The Harbin Siberian Tiger Park is a chance to get up close to siberian tigers.

3. Zhongzhang Main Street Is the longest pedestrian street in China and filled with loads of Harbin delicacies and shopping. You can walk, snack and shop from one end all the way through to the Songhua River.

4. Sophia Cathedral: is a Russian orthodox cathedral with impressive architecture and is especially beautiful against the snowy backdrop.

Image 1 and 3: Zhongzhang Main Street / Image 2: Sophia Square Harbin
Image 1 and 3: Zhongzhang Main Street / Image 2: Sophia Square Harbin

5. Volga Manor is located about an hour from Harbin and is a picturesque Russian-style estate that offers a unique blend of Russian culture and scenic beauty. Volga Manor transforms into a winter wonderland, with loads of winter activities like their tube ride through the castle, sleigh rides and ski mobiles.

Volga Manor Harbin

6. Winter Underground Market – grab yourself some CHEAP winter clothes to survive your stay in Harbin. (Location is underneath our Hotel suggestion: Manhattan Hotel)

7. Zhaolin Park Ice Garden Party (Free entry) The Zhaolin Park Lantern Garden Party coincides with the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival and is a free display of illuminated ice sculptures. We were actually so surprised at the size of the free display, it’s defiantly worth a look.

Zhaolin Park Ice Garden Party Harbin

8. Ski at Yabuli Harbin has many ski resorts, and you will find many quality ones in Yabuili, located only a few hours by train or 5-6 by car.

9. China Snow Town – located a few hours by train from Harbin you will find this gorgeous snow village, referred to as China Snow Town. Most people will visit over a few days and also visit the near by ski fields in Yabuli.

You can book a multi-day tour like this one which includes all transport, accommodation and sightseeing. China Snow Village

Is the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival actually worth it?

YES!

It is definitely worth the hype! The Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin is a true overload of the senses and a truly magical experience.

It’s a one-of-a-kind winter wonderland that draws visitors from around the world every year and definitely worthy of adding to your China itinerary.

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Where to next?

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