Ice Lantern Grand View Garden

Ice Lantern Grand View Garden

The city’s exhibition area will focus on developing Nanhu Park. The previous ice lantern garden project at Victory Park has also been relocated to Nanhu Park and renamed the “Ice and Snow Lantern Grand View Garden.”

The ice lanterns of Changchun are as magical and dreamlike as a fairy-tale castle, attracting visitors from all over the country every year.

This year, the Nanhu ice lantern area will be twice as large as last year’s, covering approximately 200,000 square meters from the main entrance at Xinmin Square to the swimming area. With the theme of “Promoting Chinese Culture and Showcasing Folk Customs,” the area will combine ice and colorful lanterns to create a grand lantern garden for residents.

According to the Changchun Tourism Bureau, the decision to cancel the previous ice lantern garden at Victory Park and focus on building the colorful lantern grand view garden at Nanhu Park is mainly from the perspective of long-term development of Changchun’s ice and snow tourism products. To integrate existing resources, Nanhu Park offers a relatively larger space and easier access to ice, making it the best choice for the ice lantern garden at present.

Ice and Snow Art

Since 1963, Harbin has hosted “Ice and Snow Art” events, which quickly gained attention. In 1982, the event was officially named the “Ice Lantern Festival” and began including competitions. The Harbin Ice Lantern Festival runs from January 5 to mid-February each year, with exhibitions held in Zhaolin Park on Shangzhi Street. During this period, besides visiting the annual ice lantern festival, travelers can also enjoy a variety of exciting winter activities in the northeast, such as riding ice sails, sledding, ice skating, skiing, or participating in ice weddings and ice-themed cultural galas.

The Ice Lantern Garden combines the region’s unique natural ice and snow with lights, colors, and sound control, using carving, modeling, architecture, and landscaping to form a unified ice and snow art experience. Unlike typical artworks that remain static after creation, the beauty of ice lanterns lies in the surprises they bring year after year—earning them the lovely nickname “the never-repeating fairy tale.” They lead people through a world of colorful dreams, reminding us of life’s many joys.

Ice lanterns are most beautiful at night, but that’s also when they’re most crowded. Therefore, it’s recommended that visitors go see the lanterns around 5 or 6 p.m., before dinner, to avoid the evening crowds and escape the rapidly dropping outdoor temperatures. Since the park has four nearly identical exits, it’s best for groups to agree on a meeting time and specific exit number to avoid getting separated. Remember the exit number in Arabic numerals, not by the advertisements on the signs—some companies may have bought ads on all four exits, which could leave you confused about which one is the right meeting spot.

Feast of Ice

Next to the towering Flood Control Monument, a symbol of Harbin’s resilience against floods, lies the “Harbin Songhua River Ice and Snow World” on the Songhua River—a gathering place for those seeking snowy joy. The majestic and elegant Century Clock Tower at the entrance impresses visitors, as does the astonishing low-temperature fountain nearby—unusual in Harbin, where winter temperatures often drop below minus 10 degrees Celsius, usually freezing ordinary fountains. The emerald-green coiled dragon inside the fountain, carved from colored ice, is as captivating as jade sculpture. Throughout the park, various colorful relief ice walls—such as the Nine Dragons Wall and “Prosperity in Bloom”—are popular backdrops for photos. There are all kinds of ice slides, from small fruit-shaped ones to giant castle-like structures, in vibrant and crystal-clear hues, delighting both adults and children. Realistic ice canyon suspension bridges and ice cliff climbing attract adventurous young visitors. The park also features activities such as sled rides, camel rides, horseback riding, and dog-sled rides, encouraging tourists to get involved and take pictures. For 10 yuan, you can even pose for photos with a snow fox, dubbed the “Snow Mountain Flying Fox.” Bright red and orange strings of candied hawthorn are everywhere, along with personalized necklace pendants for 3 yuan each—often bought for kids to wear around their necks for fun. One of the biggest recent highlights here is the winter swimming competition, where an 80-year-old man bravely took part in the nude. Watching him swim powerfully in the icy water, many bundled-up youths couldn’t help but feel impressed.