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1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 83 (from laksa192)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa083.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2022/12/26/2024-harbin-ice-festival/\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2022/12/26/2024-harbin-ice-festival/\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2022\/12\/26\/2024-harbin-ice-festival\/","crawl_time":1775787785,"first_indexed_time":1672071304,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,leaveyourdailyhell!\/2022\/12\/26\/2024-harbin-ice-festival\/ s443","src_root_hash":"10320495489666014083","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"What to Know About Visiting the 2024 Harbin Ice Festival","meta_descriptions":["Want to attend the Harbin Ice Festival in 2024? Here's what to know about China's most incredible frozen extravaganza."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"I’ve always had a difficult time with winter, or at least the idea of it. This technically started in 1987, when I was uprooted from my balmy birthplace of Houston, TX to chilly St. Louis, MO, although I was so young at the time I don’t think I realized it consciously.\nThat wouldn’t happen until five years later, when my family moved again, this time even further north to suburban Toledo, OH. Ohio was not only substantially colder than Missouri—I remember crying one May because my mother’s crocuses, which had finally emerged from beneath the frozen ground, died due to a late snowstorm—but saw me as the proverbial “new kid” for the first time.\nEver since then, I’ve associated winter with trauma and misery, irrespective of how I physically react to the cold, and have gone to great lengths to deny its very existence. I’ve chosen to live in southern cities—Tampa, FL for college and Austin, TX ever since then—for my entire adult life, and have also given almost exclusive preference to warmer travel destinations, which is to say I’ve chosen to miss out on a huge percentage of the most amazing places on Earth.\nSometimes I’ve had no choice but to face winter, such as during trips to St. Louis for the holidays or when polar vortices reached as far south as Texas. In these instances I would purposely avoid buying coats, hats, gloves and other winter paraphernalia in hopes I could somehow avoid dealing with winter if I…well, avoided dealing with it. Instead, I felt even more uncomfortable than I otherwise would’ve, which exacerbated my fear and hatred.\nAt age 30, I traveled to one of the coldest places on the planet, completely on my own free will. It was a surreal, magical experience—and not just because it broke one of my life’s most debilitating existential barriers.\nExploring China’s Harbin Ice and Snow Festival brought me indescribable joy—three days here made up for all the “winter wonderland” magic I’ve missed most of the rest of my life and, believe it or not, it’s even made me eager to explore more wintry destinations. After you’ve finished enjoying my photos, continue reading to get the 411 on how you can visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, including an answer to the question of whether you need Harbin Ice Festival tours in order to do so.\nContents\nPictures from Harbin Ice Festival\nHow to Visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival\nWhen Does the Harbin Ice Festival Take Place?\nThe Harbin Ice and Snow Festival takes place every year, starting in early January and lasting until sometime in February. This is undoubtedly the best time to visit Harbin, which I’m sad to say is otherwise a somewhat bleak city, in my opinion. I’ll post the specific dates of the 2024 Harbin Ice Festival when they’re released later in 2023.\nHow is the Harbin Ice Festival Organized?\nThe Harbin Ice and Snow Festival consists of two main exhibitions:\nHarbin Ice and Snow World\n, which takes place in a park of the same name on the north bank of the\nSonghua River\n(and carved from ice blocks hauled out from it!) and the\nHarbin International Snow Sculpture Competition\n, which takes place on nearby\nSun Island\n.\nMany snow and ice sculptures can also be found within Harbin itself, particularly along the city’s central\nZhaoyang Road\nand in\nZhaolin Park\n, which is the site of the smaller\nHarbin Ice Lantern Fair\n.\nHarbin Ice Festival Tours\nMost of the online resources devoted to the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival will try to sell you tours, but don’t waste your time or money: It is completely possible to visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival on your own. After flying from to Harbin from\nBeijing\n,\nShanghai\nor any of several other Chinese cities, navigating the festival is a matter of hailing a few taxi cabs and paying entry fees, which range from 150\nyuan\n to enter Zhaolin Park to 300\nyuan\nat Harbin Ice and Snow World.\n(Hint: If you don’t speak Chinese, print out the paragraph below and show it to your taxi driver to reach your intended destination.)\nSun Island – 太阳岛\n(\nTai yang dao\n)\nHarbin Ice and Snow World – 哈尔滨冰雪大世界\n(\nHa’er bin bing xue da shi jie\n)\nZhaolin Park – 兆麟公园\n(\nZhao lin gong yuan\n)\nHarbin Ice Festival tours are available, but trust me: Visiting independently is easy (and fun!). Do make sure to download an updated “Chinese” patch to your Google Translate app (\nand a VPN\nto make sure you can use it while in China!)\nHow Cold Does It Get in Harbin?\nMy existential fear of the cold notwithstanding, I really psyched myself out before arriving in Harbin. It was very cold, of course, but it was surprisingly easy to deal with. Depending on the day, you can expect temperatures in Harbin to range from 0º to -20ºF (-15º to -30ºC), even though the general aesthetic of these Harbin travel blog pictures might seem much colder.\nMost of the reason I was fine during my Harbin travel was because I packed well. In addition to a warm coat, I recommend getting yourself some high quality long underwear (\nSmartwool\nis great!), as well as at least two pairs of gloves (I ended up having to use three!), a warm hat and scarf and some fleece-lined snow boots.\nIf you don’t have any of these items, of still find yourself feeling cold when you arrive in Harbin, you can of course buy additional cold weather gear at the festival itself, likely for much cheaper than in your home country.\nAnother reason not to worry about the cold weather at Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is that a heated, indoor place is never far off. All of the festival venues boast dozens of food and drink stalls, which allow you to escape the cold as frequently and for as long as you like. The merchants realize how desperate you’ll be, and prices are higher than you might pay in the city, but trust me, it’s worth every penny.\nThe Bottom Line\nThe good news? Although Harbin is cold, it’s not unbearable—and that’s coming for someone who’s spent most of his life hating winter! The better news? You don’t need to shop for Harbin Ice Festival tours to enjoy the world’s wintriest wonderland, even if your Chinese skills are\nbu hao\n. With this being said, traveling China as a whole can be frustrating (to say the least), so I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to\nhire me as your Travel Coach\nand let me sweat the details.","attrs_markdown":"- [Skip to primary navigation](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2022\/12\/26\/2024-harbin-ice-festival\/#genesis-nav-primary)\n- [Skip to main content](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2022\/12\/26\/2024-harbin-ice-festival\/#genesis-content)\n- [Skip to primary sidebar](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2022\/12\/26\/2024-harbin-ice-festival\/#genesis-sidebar-primary)\n\n[Need help planning? Get a custom travel itinerary.](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-coach\/)\n\n[![](https:\/\/taiwanstartshere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Nav.png)]()\n\n[![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/LYDH-2.png)](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/)\n\n[![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Search.png)]()\n\n- [Destinations](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-itinerary-ideas\/)\n- [Experiences](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-bucket-list\/)\n- [Photography](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-photography\/)\n- [Blog](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-blog\/)\n- [Plan Your Trip](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-coach\/)\n- [Learn More](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/about\/)\n\nNeed help planning your trip? [Get a custom travel itinerary.](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-coach\/)\n\n[![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Search.png)]()\n\n[![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/LYDH-2.png)](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/)\n\n[Destinations](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-itinerary-ideas\/)\n\n[Experiences](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-bucket-list\/)\n\n[Photography](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-photography\/)\n\n[Blog](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-blog\/)\n\n[Plan Your Trip](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-coach\/)\n\n[Learn More](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/about\/)\n\n- [Travel Guides]()\n  - [Australia](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-guide\/australia\/)\n  - [Europe](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-guide\/europe\/)\n  - [South America](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-guide\/south-america\/)\n  - [Southeast Asia](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-guide\/southeast-asia\/)\n- [Travel Coaching](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-coach\/ \"One-on-one travel coaching from Robert!\")\n- [Photography](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-photography\/)\n- [About](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/about\/)\n- [Work With Me](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/advertise\/)\n\n![You’ve Never Seen Winter Like This Before](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Robert-Schrader-Harbin-1499x1000.jpg)\n\n# You’ve Never Seen Winter Like This Before\nDecember 26, 2022 by [Robert Schrader](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/author\/admin\/) [21 Comments](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2022\/12\/26\/2024-harbin-ice-festival\/#comments)\n\nI’ve always had a difficult time with winter, or at least the idea of it. This technically started in 1987, when I was uprooted from my balmy birthplace of Houston, TX to chilly St. Louis, MO, although I was so young at the time I don’t think I realized it consciously.\n\nThat wouldn’t happen until five years later, when my family moved again, this time even further north to suburban Toledo, OH. Ohio was not only substantially colder than Missouri—I remember crying one May because my mother’s crocuses, which had finally emerged from beneath the frozen ground, died due to a late snowstorm—but saw me as the proverbial “new kid” for the first time.\n\nEver since then, I’ve associated winter with trauma and misery, irrespective of how I physically react to the cold, and have gone to great lengths to deny its very existence. I’ve chosen to live in southern cities—Tampa, FL for college and Austin, TX ever since then—for my entire adult life, and have also given almost exclusive preference to warmer travel destinations, which is to say I’ve chosen to miss out on a huge percentage of the most amazing places on Earth.\n\nSometimes I’ve had no choice but to face winter, such as during trips to St. Louis for the holidays or when polar vortices reached as far south as Texas. In these instances I would purposely avoid buying coats, hats, gloves and other winter paraphernalia in hopes I could somehow avoid dealing with winter if I…well, avoided dealing with it. Instead, I felt even more uncomfortable than I otherwise would’ve, which exacerbated my fear and hatred.\n\nAt age 30, I traveled to one of the coldest places on the planet, completely on my own free will. It was a surreal, magical experience—and not just because it broke one of my life’s most debilitating existential barriers.\n\nExploring China’s Harbin Ice and Snow Festival brought me indescribable joy—three days here made up for all the “winter wonderland” magic I’ve missed most of the rest of my life and, believe it or not, it’s even made me eager to explore more wintry destinations. After you’ve finished enjoying my photos, continue reading to get the 411 on how you can visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, including an answer to the question of whether you need Harbin Ice Festival tours in order to do so.\n\nNeed help planning your trip to China? [Hire me as your Travel Coach\\!](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-coach\/)\n\nContents\n\n1 [Pictures from Harbin Ice Festival](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2022\/12\/26\/2024-harbin-ice-festival\/#pics)\n\n2 [How to Visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2022\/12\/26\/2024-harbin-ice-festival\/#how)\n\n2\\.1 [When Does the Harbin Ice Festival Take Place?](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2022\/12\/26\/2024-harbin-ice-festival\/#when)\n\n2\\.2 [How is the Harbin Ice Festival Organized?](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2022\/12\/26\/2024-harbin-ice-festival\/#organized)\n\n2\\.3 [Harbin Ice Festival Tours](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2022\/12\/26\/2024-harbin-ice-festival\/#tour)\n\n3 [How Cold Does It Get in Harbin?](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2022\/12\/26\/2024-harbin-ice-festival\/#cold)\n\n4 [The Bottom Line](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2022\/12\/26\/2024-harbin-ice-festival\/#bottomline)\n## Pictures from Harbin Ice Festival\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-1.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-2.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-3.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-4.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-5.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-6.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-7.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-8.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-9.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-10.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-11.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-12.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-13.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-14.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-15.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-16-1.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-17.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-18.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-19.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-20.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-21.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-22.jpg)\n\n## How to Visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival\n### When Does the Harbin Ice Festival Take Place?\nThe Harbin Ice and Snow Festival takes place every year, starting in early January and lasting until sometime in February. This is undoubtedly the best time to visit Harbin, which I’m sad to say is otherwise a somewhat bleak city, in my opinion. I’ll post the specific dates of the 2024 Harbin Ice Festival when they’re released later in 2023.\n\n### How is the Harbin Ice Festival Organized?\nThe Harbin Ice and Snow Festival consists of two main exhibitions: **Harbin Ice and Snow World**, which takes place in a park of the same name on the north bank of the **Songhua River** (and carved from ice blocks hauled out from it!) and the **Harbin International Snow Sculpture Competition**, which takes place on nearby **Sun Island**.\n\nMany snow and ice sculptures can also be found within Harbin itself, particularly along the city’s central **Zhaoyang Road** and in **Zhaolin Park**, which is the site of the smaller **Harbin Ice Lantern Fair**.\n\n### Harbin Ice Festival Tours\nMost of the online resources devoted to the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival will try to sell you tours, but don’t waste your time or money: It is completely possible to visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival on your own. After flying from to Harbin from [Beijing](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2015\/01\/06\/ode-to-beijing\/ \"Enemy Image\"), [Shanghai](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2014\/11\/03\/making-peace-with-shanghai\/ \"Pearl of the Orient\") or any of several other Chinese cities, navigating the festival is a matter of hailing a few taxi cabs and paying entry fees, which range from 150 *yuan* to enter Zhaolin Park to 300 *yuan* at Harbin Ice and Snow World.\n\n(Hint: If you don’t speak Chinese, print out the paragraph below and show it to your taxi driver to reach your intended destination.)\n\n**Sun Island – 太阳岛** (*Tai yang dao*)  \n **Harbin Ice and Snow World – 哈尔滨冰雪大世界** (*Ha’er bin bing xue da shi jie*)  \n **Zhaolin Park – 兆麟公园** (*Zhao lin gong yuan*)\n\nHarbin Ice Festival tours are available, but trust me: Visiting independently is easy (and fun!). Do make sure to download an updated “Chinese” patch to your Google Translate app ([and a VPN](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2018\/01\/15\/best-vpn-for-world-travel\/) to make sure you can use it while in China!)\n\n## How Cold Does It Get in Harbin?\nMy existential fear of the cold notwithstanding, I really psyched myself out before arriving in Harbin. It was very cold, of course, but it was surprisingly easy to deal with. Depending on the day, you can expect temperatures in Harbin to range from 0º to -20ºF (-15º to -30ºC), even though the general aesthetic of these Harbin travel blog pictures might seem much colder.\n\nMost of the reason I was fine during my Harbin travel was because I packed well. In addition to a warm coat, I recommend getting yourself some high quality long underwear ([Smartwool](http:\/\/smartwool.com\/ \"Awesome Merino Wool Thermal Underwear\") is great!), as well as at least two pairs of gloves (I ended up having to use three!), a warm hat and scarf and some fleece-lined snow boots.\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-23.jpg)\n\nIf you don’t have any of these items, of still find yourself feeling cold when you arrive in Harbin, you can of course buy additional cold weather gear at the festival itself, likely for much cheaper than in your home country.\n\nAnother reason not to worry about the cold weather at Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is that a heated, indoor place is never far off. All of the festival venues boast dozens of food and drink stalls, which allow you to escape the cold as frequently and for as long as you like. The merchants realize how desperate you’ll be, and prices are higher than you might pay in the city, but trust me, it’s worth every penny.\n\n## The Bottom Line\nThe good news? Although Harbin is cold, it’s not unbearable—and that’s coming for someone who’s spent most of his life hating winter! The better news? You don’t need to shop for Harbin Ice Festival tours to enjoy the world’s wintriest wonderland, even if your Chinese skills are *bu hao*. With this being said, traveling China as a whole can be frustrating (to say the least), so I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to[hire me as your Travel Coach](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-coach) and let me sweat the details.\n\nFiled Under: [China](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/category\/travel\/destinations\/asia\/china\/) Tagged With: [China](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/tag\/china\/), [Harbin Ice Festival](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/tag\/harbin-ice-festival\/)\n\n## Primary Sidebar\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Robert.png)![]()\n\nNeed help planning your trip? My name is Robert Schrader, and I've planned more than 500 custom travel itineraries over the past decade. Whether you're spending a month in Australia or a long weekend in Zurich, I can help\\!\n\n[Hire Me](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-coach\/)\n\n[Tibet](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/tibet-itinerary\/)\n\n[Spain](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2-weeks-in-spain\/)\n\n[Italy](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/3-weeks-in-italy\/)\n\n[Oman](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/oman-itinerary\/)\n\n[![Japan Starts Here](https:\/\/japanstartshere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Japan-Starts-Here.jpg)![]()](https:\/\/japanstartshere.com\/)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Robert.png)![]()\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/LYDH-2.png)![]()\n\nI'm Robert Schrader, one of the web's original travel bloggers, and I've helped more than 10 million travelers plan their trips since 2009.\n\n[Learn More](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/about\/)\n\n[![Taiwan Starts Here](https:\/\/japanstartshere.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Taiwan-Starts-Here.jpg)![]()](https:\/\/taiwanstartshere.com\/)\n\n[Portugal](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/10-days-in-portugal-itinerary\/)\n\n[New Zealand](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2-weeks-in-new-zealand\/)\n\n[Bhutan](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/bhutan-itinerary\/)\n\n[Malaysia](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/malaysia-itinerary\/)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Favicon-1.png)![]()\n\nLike what you're reading? Subscribe to email updates. It's like a trip around the world every week, right in your inbox\\!\n\n[Subscribe Here](https:\/\/landing.mailerlite.com\/webforms\/landing\/j0j6m4)\n\n[![Thailand Starts Here](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Thailand-Starts-Here.jpg)![]()](https:\/\/thailandstartshere.com\/)\n\n[Mongolia](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/mongolia-itinerary\/)\n\n[Hawaii](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2024\/05\/24\/how-many-days-in-hawaii\/)\n\n[Switzerland](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/switzerland-itinerary\/)\n\n[Vietnam](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/vietnam-itinerary\/)\n\n### Destinations\n[Bhutan](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/bhutan-itinerary\/) [Hawaii](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2024\/05\/24\/how-many-days-in-hawaii\/) [Italy](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/italy-itinerary\/) [Malaysia](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/malaysia-itinerary\/) [Mongolia](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/mongolia-itinerary\/) [New Zealand](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/new-zealand-itinerary\/) [Oman](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/oman-itinerary\/) [Spain](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2-weeks-in-spain\/) [Switzerland](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/switzerland-itinerary\/) [Tibet](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/tibet-itinerary\/) [Vietnam](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/vietnam-itinerary\/)\n\n### Experiences\n[Camping in the Empty Quarter](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2018\/11\/11\/oman-trip\/) [Douro Valley Wine Trail](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2023\/10\/10\/douro-valley-worth-visiting\/) [Driving the Icefields Parkway](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/alberta-itinerary\/) [Exploring the Gobi Desert](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2018\/08\/12\/mongolia-travel-blog\/) [Follow the Cherry Blossom Front](https:\/\/japanstartshere.com\/2025\/04\/15\/japan-cherry-blossom-pictures\/) [The Other Everest Base Camp](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2024\/12\/16\/tibet-travel-blog\/) [Scaling the Tiger's Nest](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2024\/11\/26\/bhutan-travel-blog\/)\n\n### Trip Ideas\n[Alberta Road Trip](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/alberta-road-trip\/) [10 Days in Ireland](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/10-days-in-ireland\/) [1 Week in Russia](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/one-week-in-russia\/) [2 Weeks in the Balkans](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/two-weeks-in-the-balkans\/) [2 Weeks in Vietnam](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2020\/03\/01\/2-weeks-in-vietnam\/) [3 Weeks in Colombia](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/3-weeks-in-colombia\/) [3 Weeks in Italy](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/3-weeks-in-italy\/) [3 Weeks in Japan](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/3-weeks-in-japan\/) [2 Months in South America](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2-months-in-south-america\/) [2 Months in Southeast Asia](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2-months-in-southeast-asia\/)\n\n### Plan Your Trip\n[2 Months in Europe](<mailto:hello@leaveyourdailyhell.com?Subject=Two Months in Europe Itinerary>) [Around the World Trip Itinerary](<mailto:hello@leaveyourdailyhell.com?Subject=RTW Trip Itinerary>) [Japan Cherry Blossoms](<mailto:hello@leaveyourdailyhell.com?Subject=Japan Cherry Blossom Itinerary>) [Custom Japan Trips](https:\/\/japanstartshere.com\/japan-itinerary\/) [Custom Taiwan Trips](https:\/\/taiwanstartshere.com\/taiwan-itinerary\/) [Custom Thailand Trips](https:\/\/thailandstartshere.com\/thailand-itinerary\/)\n\n### Learn More\n[About](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/about\/) [Partner With Me](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/advertise\/) [Order Japan Rail Pass](https:\/\/www.jrailpass.com\/?utm_source=aff&utm_medium=cpa&affiliate=http:\/\/leaveyourdailyhellcom0323665001491778859) [Japan Starts Here](https:\/\/japanstartshere.com\/) [Meet Robert](https:\/\/schradr.com\/)\n\n[![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Facebook.png)](https:\/\/facebook.com\/leaveyourdailyhell\/)[![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Instagram.png)](https:\/\/instagram.com\/leaveyourdailyhell)[![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Pinterest.png)](https:\/\/pinterest.com\/leavyrdailyhell\/)[![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/RSS.png)](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/feed)\n\n[![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/LYDH-2.png)](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/)\n\n[![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Facebook.png)](http:\/\/facebook.com\/leaveyourdailyhell\/)[![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Instagram.png)](http:\/\/instagram.com\/leaveyourdailyhell)[![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Pinterest.png)](http:\/\/pinterest.com\/leavyrdailyhell\/)[![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/RSS.png)](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/feed)\n\nSubscribe to email updates\\!\n\nWords, images and design ©2009-2026 Robert Schrader, All rights reserved. [Read Privacy Policy](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/privacy-policy-disclosure\/) or [view sitemap](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/sitemap.xml).","attrs_readable_markdown":"I’ve always had a difficult time with winter, or at least the idea of it. This technically started in 1987, when I was uprooted from my balmy birthplace of Houston, TX to chilly St. Louis, MO, although I was so young at the time I don’t think I realized it consciously.\n\nThat wouldn’t happen until five years later, when my family moved again, this time even further north to suburban Toledo, OH. Ohio was not only substantially colder than Missouri—I remember crying one May because my mother’s crocuses, which had finally emerged from beneath the frozen ground, died due to a late snowstorm—but saw me as the proverbial “new kid” for the first time.\n\nEver since then, I’ve associated winter with trauma and misery, irrespective of how I physically react to the cold, and have gone to great lengths to deny its very existence. I’ve chosen to live in southern cities—Tampa, FL for college and Austin, TX ever since then—for my entire adult life, and have also given almost exclusive preference to warmer travel destinations, which is to say I’ve chosen to miss out on a huge percentage of the most amazing places on Earth.\n\nSometimes I’ve had no choice but to face winter, such as during trips to St. Louis for the holidays or when polar vortices reached as far south as Texas. In these instances I would purposely avoid buying coats, hats, gloves and other winter paraphernalia in hopes I could somehow avoid dealing with winter if I…well, avoided dealing with it. Instead, I felt even more uncomfortable than I otherwise would’ve, which exacerbated my fear and hatred.\n\nAt age 30, I traveled to one of the coldest places on the planet, completely on my own free will. It was a surreal, magical experience—and not just because it broke one of my life’s most debilitating existential barriers.\n\nExploring China’s Harbin Ice and Snow Festival brought me indescribable joy—three days here made up for all the “winter wonderland” magic I’ve missed most of the rest of my life and, believe it or not, it’s even made me eager to explore more wintry destinations. After you’ve finished enjoying my photos, continue reading to get the 411 on how you can visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, including an answer to the question of whether you need Harbin Ice Festival tours in order to do so.\n\nContents\n\n## Pictures from Harbin Ice Festival\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-1.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-2.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-3.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-4.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-5.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-6.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-7.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-8.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-9.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-10.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-11.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-12.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-13.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-14.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-15.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-16-1.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-17.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-18.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-19.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-20.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-21.jpg)\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-22.jpg)\n\n## How to Visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival\n### When Does the Harbin Ice Festival Take Place?\nThe Harbin Ice and Snow Festival takes place every year, starting in early January and lasting until sometime in February. This is undoubtedly the best time to visit Harbin, which I’m sad to say is otherwise a somewhat bleak city, in my opinion. I’ll post the specific dates of the 2024 Harbin Ice Festival when they’re released later in 2023.\n\n### How is the Harbin Ice Festival Organized?\nThe Harbin Ice and Snow Festival consists of two main exhibitions: **Harbin Ice and Snow World**, which takes place in a park of the same name on the north bank of the **Songhua River** (and carved from ice blocks hauled out from it!) and the **Harbin International Snow Sculpture Competition**, which takes place on nearby **Sun Island**.\n\nMany snow and ice sculptures can also be found within Harbin itself, particularly along the city’s central **Zhaoyang Road** and in **Zhaolin Park**, which is the site of the smaller **Harbin Ice Lantern Fair**.\n\n### Harbin Ice Festival Tours\nMost of the online resources devoted to the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival will try to sell you tours, but don’t waste your time or money: It is completely possible to visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival on your own. After flying from to Harbin from [Beijing](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2015\/01\/06\/ode-to-beijing\/ \"Enemy Image\"), [Shanghai](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2014\/11\/03\/making-peace-with-shanghai\/ \"Pearl of the Orient\") or any of several other Chinese cities, navigating the festival is a matter of hailing a few taxi cabs and paying entry fees, which range from 150 *yuan* to enter Zhaolin Park to 300 *yuan* at Harbin Ice and Snow World.\n\n(Hint: If you don’t speak Chinese, print out the paragraph below and show it to your taxi driver to reach your intended destination.)\n\n**Sun Island – 太阳岛** (*Tai yang dao*)  \n **Harbin Ice and Snow World – 哈尔滨冰雪大世界** (*Ha’er bin bing xue da shi jie*)  \n **Zhaolin Park – 兆麟公园** (*Zhao lin gong yuan*)\n\nHarbin Ice Festival tours are available, but trust me: Visiting independently is easy (and fun!). Do make sure to download an updated “Chinese” patch to your Google Translate app ([and a VPN](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/2018\/01\/15\/best-vpn-for-world-travel\/) to make sure you can use it while in China!)\n\n## How Cold Does It Get in Harbin?\nMy existential fear of the cold notwithstanding, I really psyched myself out before arriving in Harbin. It was very cold, of course, but it was surprisingly easy to deal with. Depending on the day, you can expect temperatures in Harbin to range from 0º to -20ºF (-15º to -30ºC), even though the general aesthetic of these Harbin travel blog pictures might seem much colder.\n\nMost of the reason I was fine during my Harbin travel was because I packed well. In addition to a warm coat, I recommend getting yourself some high quality long underwear ([Smartwool](http:\/\/smartwool.com\/ \"Awesome Merino Wool Thermal Underwear\") is great!), as well as at least two pairs of gloves (I ended up having to use three!), a warm hat and scarf and some fleece-lined snow boots.\n\n![](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Harbin-23.jpg)\n\nIf you don’t have any of these items, of still find yourself feeling cold when you arrive in Harbin, you can of course buy additional cold weather gear at the festival itself, likely for much cheaper than in your home country.\n\nAnother reason not to worry about the cold weather at Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is that a heated, indoor place is never far off. All of the festival venues boast dozens of food and drink stalls, which allow you to escape the cold as frequently and for as long as you like. The merchants realize how desperate you’ll be, and prices are higher than you might pay in the city, but trust me, it’s worth every penny.\n\n## The Bottom Line\nThe good news? Although Harbin is cold, it’s not unbearable—and that’s coming for someone who’s spent most of his life hating winter! The better news? You don’t need to shop for Harbin Ice Festival tours to enjoy the world’s wintriest wonderland, even if your Chinese skills are *bu hao*. With this being said, traveling China as a whole can be frustrating (to say the least), so I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to[hire me as your Travel Coach](https:\/\/leaveyourdailyhell.com\/travel-coach) and let me sweat the details.","meta_canonical":null}

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Boilerpipe Text	I’ve always had a difficult time with winter, or at least the idea of it. This technically started in 1987, when I was uprooted from my balmy birthplace of Houston, TX to chilly St. Louis, MO, although I was so young at the time I don’t think I realized it consciously. That wouldn’t happen until five years later, when my family moved again, this time even further north to suburban Toledo, OH. Ohio was not only substantially colder than Missouri—I remember crying one May because my mother’s crocuses, which had finally emerged from beneath the frozen ground, died due to a late snowstorm—but saw me as the proverbial “new kid” for the first time. Ever since then, I’ve associated winter with trauma and misery, irrespective of how I physically react to the cold, and have gone to great lengths to deny its very existence. I’ve chosen to live in southern cities—Tampa, FL for college and Austin, TX ever since then—for my entire adult life, and have also given almost exclusive preference to warmer travel destinations, which is to say I’ve chosen to miss out on a huge percentage of the most amazing places on Earth. Sometimes I’ve had no choice but to face winter, such as during trips to St. Louis for the holidays or when polar vortices reached as far south as Texas. In these instances I would purposely avoid buying coats, hats, gloves and other winter paraphernalia in hopes I could somehow avoid dealing with winter if I…well, avoided dealing with it. Instead, I felt even more uncomfortable than I otherwise would’ve, which exacerbated my fear and hatred. At age 30, I traveled to one of the coldest places on the planet, completely on my own free will. It was a surreal, magical experience—and not just because it broke one of my life’s most debilitating existential barriers. Exploring China’s Harbin Ice and Snow Festival brought me indescribable joy—three days here made up for all the “winter wonderland” magic I’ve missed most of the rest of my life and, believe it or not, it’s even made me eager to explore more wintry destinations. After you’ve finished enjoying my photos, continue reading to get the 411 on how you can visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, including an answer to the question of whether you need Harbin Ice Festival tours in order to do so. Contents Pictures from Harbin Ice Festival How to Visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival When Does the Harbin Ice Festival Take Place? The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival takes place every year, starting in early January and lasting until sometime in February. This is undoubtedly the best time to visit Harbin, which I’m sad to say is otherwise a somewhat bleak city, in my opinion. I’ll post the specific dates of the 2024 Harbin Ice Festival when they’re released later in 2023. How is the Harbin Ice Festival Organized? The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival consists of two main exhibitions: Harbin Ice and Snow World , which takes place in a park of the same name on the north bank of the Songhua River (and carved from ice blocks hauled out from it!) and the Harbin International Snow Sculpture Competition , which takes place on nearby Sun Island . Many snow and ice sculptures can also be found within Harbin itself, particularly along the city’s central Zhaoyang Road and in Zhaolin Park , which is the site of the smaller Harbin Ice Lantern Fair . Harbin Ice Festival Tours Most of the online resources devoted to the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival will try to sell you tours, but don’t waste your time or money: It is completely possible to visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival on your own. After flying from to Harbin from Beijing , Shanghai or any of several other Chinese cities, navigating the festival is a matter of hailing a few taxi cabs and paying entry fees, which range from 150 yuan to enter Zhaolin Park to 300 yuan at Harbin Ice and Snow World. (Hint: If you don’t speak Chinese, print out the paragraph below and show it to your taxi driver to reach your intended destination.) Sun Island – 太阳岛 ( Tai yang dao ) Harbin Ice and Snow World – 哈尔滨冰雪大世界 ( Ha’er bin bing xue da shi jie ) Zhaolin Park – 兆麟公园 ( Zhao lin gong yuan ) Harbin Ice Festival tours are available, but trust me: Visiting independently is easy (and fun!). Do make sure to download an updated “Chinese” patch to your Google Translate app ( and a VPN to make sure you can use it while in China!) How Cold Does It Get in Harbin? My existential fear of the cold notwithstanding, I really psyched myself out before arriving in Harbin. It was very cold, of course, but it was surprisingly easy to deal with. Depending on the day, you can expect temperatures in Harbin to range from 0º to -20ºF (-15º to -30ºC), even though the general aesthetic of these Harbin travel blog pictures might seem much colder. Most of the reason I was fine during my Harbin travel was because I packed well. In addition to a warm coat, I recommend getting yourself some high quality long underwear ( Smartwool is great!), as well as at least two pairs of gloves (I ended up having to use three!), a warm hat and scarf and some fleece-lined snow boots. If you don’t have any of these items, of still find yourself feeling cold when you arrive in Harbin, you can of course buy additional cold weather gear at the festival itself, likely for much cheaper than in your home country. Another reason not to worry about the cold weather at Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is that a heated, indoor place is never far off. All of the festival venues boast dozens of food and drink stalls, which allow you to escape the cold as frequently and for as long as you like. The merchants realize how desperate you’ll be, and prices are higher than you might pay in the city, but trust me, it’s worth every penny. The Bottom Line The good news? Although Harbin is cold, it’s not unbearable—and that’s coming for someone who’s spent most of his life hating winter! The better news? You don’t need to shop for Harbin Ice Festival tours to enjoy the world’s wintriest wonderland, even if your Chinese skills are bu hao . With this being said, traveling China as a whole can be frustrating (to say the least), so I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to hire me as your Travel Coach and let me sweat the details.
Markdown	- [Skip to primary navigation](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2022/12/26/2024-harbin-ice-festival/#genesis-nav-primary) - [Skip to main content](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2022/12/26/2024-harbin-ice-festival/#genesis-content) - [Skip to primary sidebar](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2022/12/26/2024-harbin-ice-festival/#genesis-sidebar-primary) [Need help planning? Get a custom travel itinerary.](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-coach/) [![](https://taiwanstartshere.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Nav.png)]() [![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/LYDH-2.png)](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/) [![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Search.png)]() - [Destinations](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-itinerary-ideas/) - [Experiences](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-bucket-list/) - [Photography](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-photography/) - [Blog](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-blog/) - [Plan Your Trip](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-coach/) - [Learn More](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/about/) Need help planning your trip? [Get a custom travel itinerary.](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-coach/) [![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Search.png)]() [![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/LYDH-2.png)](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/) [Destinations](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-itinerary-ideas/) [Experiences](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-bucket-list/) [Photography](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-photography/) [Blog](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-blog/) [Plan Your Trip](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-coach/) [Learn More](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/about/) - [Travel Guides]() - [Australia](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-guide/australia/) - [Europe](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-guide/europe/) - [South America](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-guide/south-america/) - [Southeast Asia](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-guide/southeast-asia/) - [Travel Coaching](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-coach/ "One-on-one travel coaching from Robert!") - [Photography](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-photography/) - [About](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/about/) - [Work With Me](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/advertise/) ![You’ve Never Seen Winter Like This Before](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Robert-Schrader-Harbin-1499x1000.jpg) # You’ve Never Seen Winter Like This Before December 26, 2022 by [Robert Schrader](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/author/admin/) [21 Comments](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2022/12/26/2024-harbin-ice-festival/#comments) I’ve always had a difficult time with winter, or at least the idea of it. This technically started in 1987, when I was uprooted from my balmy birthplace of Houston, TX to chilly St. Louis, MO, although I was so young at the time I don’t think I realized it consciously. That wouldn’t happen until five years later, when my family moved again, this time even further north to suburban Toledo, OH. Ohio was not only substantially colder than Missouri—I remember crying one May because my mother’s crocuses, which had finally emerged from beneath the frozen ground, died due to a late snowstorm—but saw me as the proverbial “new kid” for the first time. Ever since then, I’ve associated winter with trauma and misery, irrespective of how I physically react to the cold, and have gone to great lengths to deny its very existence. I’ve chosen to live in southern cities—Tampa, FL for college and Austin, TX ever since then—for my entire adult life, and have also given almost exclusive preference to warmer travel destinations, which is to say I’ve chosen to miss out on a huge percentage of the most amazing places on Earth. Sometimes I’ve had no choice but to face winter, such as during trips to St. Louis for the holidays or when polar vortices reached as far south as Texas. In these instances I would purposely avoid buying coats, hats, gloves and other winter paraphernalia in hopes I could somehow avoid dealing with winter if I…well, avoided dealing with it. Instead, I felt even more uncomfortable than I otherwise would’ve, which exacerbated my fear and hatred. At age 30, I traveled to one of the coldest places on the planet, completely on my own free will. It was a surreal, magical experience—and not just because it broke one of my life’s most debilitating existential barriers. Exploring China’s Harbin Ice and Snow Festival brought me indescribable joy—three days here made up for all the “winter wonderland” magic I’ve missed most of the rest of my life and, believe it or not, it’s even made me eager to explore more wintry destinations. After you’ve finished enjoying my photos, continue reading to get the 411 on how you can visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, including an answer to the question of whether you need Harbin Ice Festival tours in order to do so. Need help planning your trip to China? [Hire me as your Travel Coach\!](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-coach/) Contents 1 [Pictures from Harbin Ice Festival](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2022/12/26/2024-harbin-ice-festival/#pics) 2 [How to Visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2022/12/26/2024-harbin-ice-festival/#how) 2\.1 [When Does the Harbin Ice Festival Take Place?](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2022/12/26/2024-harbin-ice-festival/#when) 2\.2 [How is the Harbin Ice Festival Organized?](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2022/12/26/2024-harbin-ice-festival/#organized) 2\.3 [Harbin Ice Festival Tours](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2022/12/26/2024-harbin-ice-festival/#tour) 3 [How Cold Does It Get in Harbin?](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2022/12/26/2024-harbin-ice-festival/#cold) 4 [The Bottom Line](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2022/12/26/2024-harbin-ice-festival/#bottomline) ## Pictures from Harbin Ice Festival ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-1.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-2.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-3.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-4.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-5.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-6.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-7.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-8.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-9.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-10.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-11.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-12.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-13.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-14.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-15.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-16-1.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-17.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-18.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-19.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-20.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-21.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-22.jpg) ## How to Visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival ### When Does the Harbin Ice Festival Take Place? The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival takes place every year, starting in early January and lasting until sometime in February. This is undoubtedly the best time to visit Harbin, which I’m sad to say is otherwise a somewhat bleak city, in my opinion. I’ll post the specific dates of the 2024 Harbin Ice Festival when they’re released later in 2023. ### How is the Harbin Ice Festival Organized? The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival consists of two main exhibitions: Harbin Ice and Snow World, which takes place in a park of the same name on the north bank of the Songhua River (and carved from ice blocks hauled out from it!) and the Harbin International Snow Sculpture Competition, which takes place on nearby Sun Island. Many snow and ice sculptures can also be found within Harbin itself, particularly along the city’s central Zhaoyang Road and in Zhaolin Park, which is the site of the smaller Harbin Ice Lantern Fair. ### Harbin Ice Festival Tours Most of the online resources devoted to the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival will try to sell you tours, but don’t waste your time or money: It is completely possible to visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival on your own. After flying from to Harbin from [Beijing](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2015/01/06/ode-to-beijing/ "Enemy Image"), [Shanghai](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2014/11/03/making-peace-with-shanghai/ "Pearl of the Orient") or any of several other Chinese cities, navigating the festival is a matter of hailing a few taxi cabs and paying entry fees, which range from 150 yuan to enter Zhaolin Park to 300 yuan at Harbin Ice and Snow World. (Hint: If you don’t speak Chinese, print out the paragraph below and show it to your taxi driver to reach your intended destination.) Sun Island – 太阳岛 (Tai yang dao) Harbin Ice and Snow World – 哈尔滨冰雪大世界 (Ha’er bin bing xue da shi jie) Zhaolin Park – 兆麟公园 (Zhao lin gong yuan) Harbin Ice Festival tours are available, but trust me: Visiting independently is easy (and fun!). Do make sure to download an updated “Chinese” patch to your Google Translate app ([and a VPN](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2018/01/15/best-vpn-for-world-travel/) to make sure you can use it while in China!) ## How Cold Does It Get in Harbin? My existential fear of the cold notwithstanding, I really psyched myself out before arriving in Harbin. It was very cold, of course, but it was surprisingly easy to deal with. Depending on the day, you can expect temperatures in Harbin to range from 0º to -20ºF (-15º to -30ºC), even though the general aesthetic of these Harbin travel blog pictures might seem much colder. Most of the reason I was fine during my Harbin travel was because I packed well. In addition to a warm coat, I recommend getting yourself some high quality long underwear ([Smartwool](http://smartwool.com/ "Awesome Merino Wool Thermal Underwear") is great!), as well as at least two pairs of gloves (I ended up having to use three!), a warm hat and scarf and some fleece-lined snow boots. ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-23.jpg) If you don’t have any of these items, of still find yourself feeling cold when you arrive in Harbin, you can of course buy additional cold weather gear at the festival itself, likely for much cheaper than in your home country. Another reason not to worry about the cold weather at Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is that a heated, indoor place is never far off. All of the festival venues boast dozens of food and drink stalls, which allow you to escape the cold as frequently and for as long as you like. The merchants realize how desperate you’ll be, and prices are higher than you might pay in the city, but trust me, it’s worth every penny. ## The Bottom Line The good news? Although Harbin is cold, it’s not unbearable—and that’s coming for someone who’s spent most of his life hating winter! The better news? You don’t need to shop for Harbin Ice Festival tours to enjoy the world’s wintriest wonderland, even if your Chinese skills are bu hao. With this being said, traveling China as a whole can be frustrating (to say the least), so I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to[hire me as your Travel Coach](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-coach) and let me sweat the details. 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Readable Markdown	I’ve always had a difficult time with winter, or at least the idea of it. This technically started in 1987, when I was uprooted from my balmy birthplace of Houston, TX to chilly St. Louis, MO, although I was so young at the time I don’t think I realized it consciously. That wouldn’t happen until five years later, when my family moved again, this time even further north to suburban Toledo, OH. Ohio was not only substantially colder than Missouri—I remember crying one May because my mother’s crocuses, which had finally emerged from beneath the frozen ground, died due to a late snowstorm—but saw me as the proverbial “new kid” for the first time. Ever since then, I’ve associated winter with trauma and misery, irrespective of how I physically react to the cold, and have gone to great lengths to deny its very existence. I’ve chosen to live in southern cities—Tampa, FL for college and Austin, TX ever since then—for my entire adult life, and have also given almost exclusive preference to warmer travel destinations, which is to say I’ve chosen to miss out on a huge percentage of the most amazing places on Earth. Sometimes I’ve had no choice but to face winter, such as during trips to St. Louis for the holidays or when polar vortices reached as far south as Texas. In these instances I would purposely avoid buying coats, hats, gloves and other winter paraphernalia in hopes I could somehow avoid dealing with winter if I…well, avoided dealing with it. Instead, I felt even more uncomfortable than I otherwise would’ve, which exacerbated my fear and hatred. At age 30, I traveled to one of the coldest places on the planet, completely on my own free will. It was a surreal, magical experience—and not just because it broke one of my life’s most debilitating existential barriers. Exploring China’s Harbin Ice and Snow Festival brought me indescribable joy—three days here made up for all the “winter wonderland” magic I’ve missed most of the rest of my life and, believe it or not, it’s even made me eager to explore more wintry destinations. After you’ve finished enjoying my photos, continue reading to get the 411 on how you can visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, including an answer to the question of whether you need Harbin Ice Festival tours in order to do so. Contents ## Pictures from Harbin Ice Festival ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-1.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-2.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-3.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-4.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-5.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-6.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-7.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-8.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-9.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-10.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-11.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-12.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-13.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-14.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-15.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-16-1.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-17.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-18.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-19.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-20.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-21.jpg) ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-22.jpg) ## How to Visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival ### When Does the Harbin Ice Festival Take Place? The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival takes place every year, starting in early January and lasting until sometime in February. This is undoubtedly the best time to visit Harbin, which I’m sad to say is otherwise a somewhat bleak city, in my opinion. I’ll post the specific dates of the 2024 Harbin Ice Festival when they’re released later in 2023. ### How is the Harbin Ice Festival Organized? The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival consists of two main exhibitions: Harbin Ice and Snow World, which takes place in a park of the same name on the north bank of the Songhua River (and carved from ice blocks hauled out from it!) and the Harbin International Snow Sculpture Competition, which takes place on nearby Sun Island. Many snow and ice sculptures can also be found within Harbin itself, particularly along the city’s central Zhaoyang Road and in Zhaolin Park, which is the site of the smaller Harbin Ice Lantern Fair. ### Harbin Ice Festival Tours Most of the online resources devoted to the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival will try to sell you tours, but don’t waste your time or money: It is completely possible to visit the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival on your own. After flying from to Harbin from [Beijing](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2015/01/06/ode-to-beijing/ "Enemy Image"), [Shanghai](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2014/11/03/making-peace-with-shanghai/ "Pearl of the Orient") or any of several other Chinese cities, navigating the festival is a matter of hailing a few taxi cabs and paying entry fees, which range from 150 yuan to enter Zhaolin Park to 300 yuan at Harbin Ice and Snow World. (Hint: If you don’t speak Chinese, print out the paragraph below and show it to your taxi driver to reach your intended destination.) Sun Island – 太阳岛 (Tai yang dao) Harbin Ice and Snow World – 哈尔滨冰雪大世界 (Ha’er bin bing xue da shi jie) Zhaolin Park – 兆麟公园 (Zhao lin gong yuan) Harbin Ice Festival tours are available, but trust me: Visiting independently is easy (and fun!). Do make sure to download an updated “Chinese” patch to your Google Translate app ([and a VPN](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/2018/01/15/best-vpn-for-world-travel/) to make sure you can use it while in China!) ## How Cold Does It Get in Harbin? My existential fear of the cold notwithstanding, I really psyched myself out before arriving in Harbin. It was very cold, of course, but it was surprisingly easy to deal with. Depending on the day, you can expect temperatures in Harbin to range from 0º to -20ºF (-15º to -30ºC), even though the general aesthetic of these Harbin travel blog pictures might seem much colder. Most of the reason I was fine during my Harbin travel was because I packed well. In addition to a warm coat, I recommend getting yourself some high quality long underwear ([Smartwool](http://smartwool.com/ "Awesome Merino Wool Thermal Underwear") is great!), as well as at least two pairs of gloves (I ended up having to use three!), a warm hat and scarf and some fleece-lined snow boots. ![](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harbin-23.jpg) If you don’t have any of these items, of still find yourself feeling cold when you arrive in Harbin, you can of course buy additional cold weather gear at the festival itself, likely for much cheaper than in your home country. Another reason not to worry about the cold weather at Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is that a heated, indoor place is never far off. All of the festival venues boast dozens of food and drink stalls, which allow you to escape the cold as frequently and for as long as you like. The merchants realize how desperate you’ll be, and prices are higher than you might pay in the city, but trust me, it’s worth every penny. ## The Bottom Line The good news? Although Harbin is cold, it’s not unbearable—and that’s coming for someone who’s spent most of his life hating winter! The better news? You don’t need to shop for Harbin Ice Festival tours to enjoy the world’s wintriest wonderland, even if your Chinese skills are bu hao. With this being said, traveling China as a whole can be frustrating (to say the least), so I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to[hire me as your Travel Coach](https://leaveyourdailyhell.com/travel-coach) and let me sweat the details.
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