The world’s largest indoor ice and snow theme park has officially opened in Harbin, China, allowing visitors to experience winter temperatures all year round.
Harbin, also known as the Ice City, is the capital of Heilongjiang province and is located in the northernmost part of the country. The city is known for its long, cold, and snowy winters, with short and cool summers. The annual Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, which started in 1999, takes place from December to early March.
During the opening ceremony, a representative from Guinness World Records awarded the Harbin Ice and Snow World Company the certification for the “world’s largest indoor ice and snow theme park.”
Interestingly, the park’s opening coincided with a heatwave in Harbin, with outdoor temperatures reaching 29 degrees Celsius (84 degrees Fahrenheit), while the indoor theme park maintained a chilly temperature between -8 degrees Celsius to -12 degrees Celsius (17.6 degrees Fahrenheit to 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit).
The new Harbin Ice and Snow World Park, covering 23,800 square meters, opened on July 6. It is divided into nine themed sections and offers 13 interactive projects. The park utilizes advanced ice sculpting techniques and incorporates cutting-edge lighting, sound, and interactive technologies to provide visitors with an immersive experience.
To construct the park’s attractions, ice sourced from the Songhua River was used, with a total volume of 20,000 cubic meters. Once inside the park, visitors can enjoy a magical atmosphere filled with ice, light, entertainment, gourmet food, and cultural creations. The park also features vibrant ice sculptures of fruit, ice cream, and cakes, made using environmentally-friendly special coloring processes with edible dyes.
The annual snow and ice festival in Harbin attracts tens of thousands of tourists from China and around the world. However, this new addition is designed to not only prolong the city’s tourist season but also to turn it into a year-round destination.