Harbin Ice Lantern Garden Party

Ice Lantern Garden Party

Harbin is the cradle of China's ice and snow art, and its ice lanterns are renowned both domestically and internationally. The Harbin Ice Lantern Garden Party is currently the earliest-established, largest-scale, and most traditional large-scale outdoor ice lantern art exhibition in the world. Established in 1963, it is held every winter in Zhaolin Park, a world-famous ice and snow tourism destination. Covering an area of 6.5 hectares, the event uses approximately 2,000 cubic meters of ice and features around 1,500 ice sculptures. It is the earliest-established, largest-scale, and now traditional outdoor ice lantern art exhibition in the world.

The annual Harbin Ice Lantern Garden Party, held every year in Zhaolin Park, runs from January 5th to the end of February. The festival is grand in scale and mesmerizing in its displays. Harbin’s artists use natural ice harvested from the Songhua River to create a myriad of ice sculptures, enhanced by modern technology, resulting in a uniquely northern ice lantern art form. Across a site spanning over 60,000 square meters, more than a thousand scenic displays come to life. Under the skilled hands of the artists and craftsmen, the natural ice taken from the Songhua River is transformed into vivid, exquisite artworks — a world of ice and lights, a sea of crystal and silver.

Ice lantern art evolves each year and has been called a “never-repeating fairy tale.” Since 1985, during the annual Harbin Ice and Snow Festival held alongside the Ice Lantern Garden Party, visitors can not only explore the ice lantern displays and admire various ice sculptures but also participate in sports activities on the Songhua River Ice World. These include riding ice sails, playing ice tops, ice skating, watching winter swimming competitions and ice weddings, as well as attending the Ice and Snow Festival Gala and other events.

It is reported that one highlight of this year’s Ice Lantern Garden Party is its blend of Chinese and Western elements. Drawing inspiration from the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, five themed zones and three major landscapes have been created: "Dreaming Back to the Red Chamber," "Heroes of Liangshan," "Journey to the West Reimagined," "Battles of the Three Kingdoms," and "Russian Style." Together, they showcase over 2,000 exquisite ice lantern artworks.

Themed “Ice Unlocks Chinese Culture Through the Ages, Lights Bridge Sino-Russian Friendship Toward the Future,” this year’s Ice Lantern Garden Party also emphasizes public participation. In addition to continuing past international and domestic competitions, it introduces the first-ever Ice Sculpture Masters Invitational, an Ice and Snow Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition, and ice printmaking workshops. A special ice sculpture performance area is also set up where visitors can try making their own ice lanterns. Since its inception in 1963, the Harbin Ice Lantern Garden Party has been successfully held 31 times in Zhaolin Park. In 2006, Zhaolin Park will celebrate its 100th anniversary.