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Plan your Beijing winter tour? Don’t miss an excursion to Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival (延庆龙庆峡冰灯). Basically each year it will be open around Jan 05. In some occasions, it will be delayed for a few days. But if even it is delayed, you still can go there to have a glimpse of the ice festival site which is under preparation, still a fun. Have a good time in Beijing!

This famous ice and snow festival boasts the three intriguing items – Ice Lanterns, Ice Carving and Snow Sculptures. If you are not going to have a Harbin tour for an amazing ice and snow festival in Harbin, Beijing Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival is a perfect substitute.

The venue for Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival is the narrow valley in the Longqing Gorge Scenic Area. The Longqing Gorge Scenic Area is 15km in the northeast of Yanqing County, about 80km from Beijing city center.

The Longqing Gorge is a famous summer resort, a 7-km long ravine passed by the Gucheng River, which is dubbed as “Little Li River”, or “Little Three Gorges of Yangtze River”. But if you come here in winter, you can  see ice lanterns, ice and snow sculptures during the ice festival period.

Each year Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival has a different theme for the ice  and lantern activity.  For example, for the year 2013, the ice lantern festival  lasted from January 10 to the end of February with four sections – Colorful lanterns, Ice Carving, Snow Sculptures and the “Longqing Gorge Cup” International Ice and Snow Carving Competition. You have 350 ice lanterns, 250 ice carvings, over 60 snow sculptures, over 200 groups of colorful lantern, 300 tree lanterns.

In addition, there were a group of city lanterns of several ten hundreds meters long and several ten thousand decorative lanterns represented by Ruins of St. Paul in Macao, Hong Kong Disneyland, Nanshan Temple in Hainan Island, City Hall of Sansha City, the Sea Goddess Mazu and 101 Tower in Taipei and more classical elements.

You can also visit the ice lantern festival in the daytime. Of course, the best time to view the ice lanterns is in the evening lasting from 5;00pm to 10:00pm.
The venue for Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival is adjacent to several winter attractions such as Badaling Great Wall, Shijinglong Ski Resort and Badaling Ski Resort. You can combine two or three sights in a one-day Beijing excursion.

Venue
Longqing Gorge Scenic Area in the north of Gucun Village, Jiuxian Town, Yanqing County, Beijing  延庆县旧县镇古城村北龙庆峡景区 Festival Time: Jan 10 – Feb

Opening Hours: 9:00 am – 10:00 pm

Entry Tickets: RMB 100; RMB 50 (students); Free for travelers under 12 years

Enquiry: 69191020

How to get there
Bus: take Bus 919 from Deshengmen Bus Terminal and get off at Yanqing County and change for Bus 920 for Longqing Gorge  S Train: take S train to Yanqing County.

Self-drive: Drive along Badaling Expressway (Jingzang Expressway) and eixt from Exit 62, pass by Yanqing County, drive along National Highway.

Suggested Lodging in Yanqing for overnight
1) Beijing Jinyu Badaling Spa Resort 延庆金隅八达岭温泉度假村
Add: Guishui N St, Yanqing, Beijing,
Tel: +86 10 6914 8833
Note:you can do the booking through the page:  Beijing Jinyu Badaling Spa

2) The Great Wall Courtyard Hostel
The Great Wall Courtyard Hostel
Tel: +86 10 69121156, +86 13911753888
Fax: +86 10 69122118
Note: Please visit the website : The Great Wall Courtyard Hostel  and directly book online.

3) Commune by the Great Wall
Please visit their official website: Commune by the Great Wall  and book online.

Organised Longqing Gorge Ice Festival Day Tour:
1) Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival & Badaling Great Wall Day Tour
2) Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival Night Tour

The lit colorful lanterns with the backdrop of the lit Great Wall

The lit colorful lanterns with the backdrop of the lit Great Wall

The radiant ice lanterns

The lit ice carvings

The lit ice carvings

The colourful Ice Carvings

The colourful Ice Carvings

Have a close look at the ice sculptures

A panoramic view of the ice city of carvings