If you are going to visit Harbin in winter, definitely you will put two must-see attractions into your Harbin tour: Harbin Ice and Snow World, and Sun Island Snow Sculptures. The two sites are the prime draw cards of Harbin, enticing hundreds and thousands of visitors from home and abroad each winter season.
ABC of Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley
Today I’d like to introduce you to another ice and snow activity in Harbin which is more interactive and entertaining – Harbin Ice and Snow Valley (哈尔滨冰雪欢乐谷), an important part of Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival.
Harbin Ice and Snow Valley Festival was originally inaugurated in the year of 2000. Since then, the Harbin Ice and Snow Valley is held annually lasting about 50 days starting December 25 and ending in Feb each year.
Location of Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley
The venue of the ice and snow valley is located on the Songhuajiang River by the Harbin Flood Control Monument and Stalin Park, on the northern tip of Zhongyang Street (中央大街).
Zhongyang Street is the main entrance into the huge ice park, which is also easily accessible from other 5 entries including Jiuzhan Street, Friendship Palace, Tongjiang Street, Wanda and Shangzhi Avenue along the south bank of Songhuajiang River.
Layout of Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley
Basically each year’s ice and snow valley takes a total area of about 76 square meters with 8 sections covering leisure, entertainment, food and beverage, folklore, shopping.
There are over 50 ice and snow activities going on the huge park perched on Songhuajiang River which include winter swimming, whipping spinning tops, ice slides, snow cars, dogsleds, a large ice and snow maze, the Ewenki Mysterious Land, Inuit Culture Exhibition and more.
Paid activities in the ice park
Free entrance to the huge park of Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley which includes 8 areas separated from each other on the iced river. But you are supposed to pay any activities inside the park.
Safety of the huge ice park
An advanced radar scanning system imported from Norway is equipped to monitor the thickness of the river ice surface, making sure the all activities on the iced river is safe.
How to Visit Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley
As a first-time visitor to Harbin in winter, you are highly recommended to put Zhongyang Street and Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley on a combo half day trip or day trip depending on your travel time.
Enter the northern entrance to Zhongyang Street and follow your nose to its northern edge of Songhua River, which is partly turned into a huge ice park in winter, namely Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley.
A leisure stroll along Zhongyang Street is one of your highlights on your Harbin trip. Zhongyang Street is a unique European-style pedestrian street, 1450m long with lines of edifices, masses of entertainment areas, and colorful cultural life.
At the northern end of Zhongyang Street is the Stalin Park on the southern bank of Songhua River, a Soviet-era landscaped park with Russian gardens & monuments, turned into the huge ice park, namely Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley.
Behind the monument is the centre area of Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley, an annual event in Stalin Park. It is a place you immerse yourself into the happy ice and snow events in Harbin – winter swimming, snow bike, skiing and you name it.
Virtual Tour of Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley
Follow me to have a glimpse of the so-called largest snow and ice playground in the world.
The so-called Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley is a huge ice and snow playground on Songhua River along the Stalin Park on the northern tip of Zhongyang Street.
The ice and snow playground has a total area of 76 square meters with 8 sections. Each section is composed of several fenced areas for different ice and snow activities.
Play the spinning top
Sliding on the ice
Self-guided stool sliding on the ice
Drive an ice and snow motor
Ice and Snow Tanks
Ice and snow manual car
Skating on a track
The Ewenki dogsleds
Winter Swimming. For more information on the winter swimming, check out Harbin Winter Swimming.
Let’s again have a look at the huge ice park of Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley.
Tip: Hassle-free Northeast China Escorted Tours
Don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route? No worries, We at Tour Beijing have some options for Northeast China guided tours with English-speaking tour guides:
Harbin Tour
Harbin 3 Day Tour Package
Changchun Tour
Shenyang Tour
Dalian Tour
Dandong Tour
North Korea Tour
Northeast China Tour
Further Readings
Top Attractions in Northeast China
Top 10 Attractions in Harbin
Top 6 Things to Do in Heilongjiang
Top 10 Attractions in Shenyang
Top 10 Attractions in Dandong
Top 10 Attractions in Ji’an
Top 10 Attractions in Panjin
Top 10 Attractions in Dalian (Tips, Photos and Maps)
Best Time to Visit Harbin
Where to Stay in Harbin
Harbin West Railway Station
Top Things to Do in Winter in Harbin
Harbin Ice and Snow Happy Valley
Harbin Ice and Snow World
Harbin Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo
Harbin Winter Swimming
Madie’er Popsicles in Harbin
Harbin Jihua Ski Resort
Suan Cai Jiaozi – New Year’s Soul in Dongbei
What to see in Harbin, things to do in Harbin
China Snow Town
Scenic Drive from Harbin to China Snow Town
Shuttle Bus from Harbin to China Snow Town
Harbin – Yabuli – China Snow Town Shuttle Bus
Sunrise Glow over China Snow Village
Night View of China Snow Village
Qiqihar Taxi: Qiqihar Taxi Fares, Tips and Phones
Mudanjiang Taxi: Mudanjiang Taxi Fares, Tips and phones
Harbin Taxi: Harbin Taxi Fares, Tips and Phone
Yanji Taxi: Yanji Taxi Fares, Tips and Phones
Jilin Taxi: Jilin Taxi Fares, Tips and Phones
Changchun Taxi: Changchun Taxi Fares, Tips and Phones
Dandong Taxi: Dandong Taxi Fares, Tips and Phones
Shenyang Taxi: Shenyang Taxi Fares, Tips and Phones
Any questions, just drop a line.
Hi,
Where do you suggest the best area to stay if we were to visit these places on our own:
1. Harbin Ice and Snow World
2. Sun Snow Sculpture
3. Snow Happy valley
4. Winter Swimming
How long you recommend us to stay in Harbin City to enjoy this Ice & Snow Festival?
We are planning to spend time in Snow Town Village as well
Is these dates 23-28 still possible to see the Ice n snow sculpture or they are closed?
Thank you
Hi Gina,
1. Winter Swimming Pool ( an small area cut through the ice surface of Songhua River ) is part of Snow Happy Valley. Snow Happy Valley ( free to enter ) is located on the Songhuajiang River by the Harbin Flood Control Monument, on the northern tip of Zhongyang Street.
2. Harbin Ice and Snow World and Sun Snow Sculpture are not far from each other. Suggest you go to Harbin Ice and Snow World in the evening.
3. You may choose to stay at a hotel on Zhongyang Street, so you can walk to Snow Happy Valley and Winter Swimming Pool. There is a also a double-deck bus starting somewhere close to Zhongyang Street to Harbin Ice and Snow World and Sun Snow Sculpture.
dates 23-28 ? You mean Feb dates 23-28 ? Basically they will be still open, but the snow sculptures are not as good as in the frozen days and they will get melted gradually. It all depends on the weather condition and hard to predict.
By the way, you may choose to stay a hotel along Zhongyang Street or close it.
Have a good trip!