Harbin, China: The Return of the King

Immediately upon landing I knew I was back. The gleaming infrastructure.

Absurd clothing.

Countless tour guides.

Cigarettes in the airport bathroom.

I've made it to China. Specifically Harbin, a city tucked away in China's Northeast. 

I came for the famous ice sculptures and distinct cultural feel. Of course since it's China, this is no ordinary festival. Harbin is home to the largest snow and ice festival in the world. I could tell from the plane ride in that this was going to be absurd.

I hunted down my lodging for the next three nights. This was the entrance.

Thankfully it was nicer on the inside. This was the only towel provided though.

The first morning I left my Soviet-era compound to hit the street. 

The Russian influence was palpable.

Aside from the one main swanky pedestrian street, Harbin felt like an aging Soviet city.

The ice and snow sculptures were plentiful and beautiful.

Despite the cold weather (more on that later), ice cream is surprisingly popular. I got this towering ice cream filled donut with a coffee hidden underneath. I did not eat for six hours after finishing that monstrosity.

The pedestrian street led into this plaza.

Everywhere I looked there were remarkable displays of ice. I particularly enjoyed this fully encased Volvo.

Harbin sits on the Songhua River which fully freezes over in the winter. There were countless activities all along the river. For my Hanover readers, this felt like the Occom Pond Party on a maximum dose of steroids.

Next up I made my way over to this park full of even more dazzling displays of ice and snow art.

Then it was soup dumpling and fried pork time. I love Chinese food so much.

That night I went to Snow and Ice World, the main event and world record holder.

Photos cannot do this place justice. It was a sprawling complex full of ice and snow sculptures of staggering size and complexity.

The ferris wheel is the only thing in this photo not made from ice.

They had snow villages and igloos.

And not one, but two fully functioning concert stages made entirely of ice. Both stages had a full production concert while I was there.

The castle area was my favorite.

They had modern art structures and replicas of famous Chinese buildings.

This place was an actual wonderland. I had so much fun and was filled with such childlike joy as I wandered through the maze of stunning structures.

The second day I set out for more exploration. 

While the day before had been cold but tolerable, this day was overcast, windy, and truly frigid. Veteran blog readers know that I have a small bag and began this trip in the Sahara Desert, so my winter gear was lacking. Shoutout Derek for bringing my long johns and scarf and Julia for bringing me a woman's puffer. I could not have gone outside without these wardrobe upgrades. In addition to my base thermal layer I was wearing three pairs of pants, three shirts, a fleece, puffer, and raincoat.

I ducked inside as often as I could to eat and warm up. This beef bun was the best thing I had in Harbin. It had the best fluffy warm outside with an inside full of chunks of rich braised meat. Dipped in chili crisp and black vinegar. China has my favorite food of the whole trip.

I checked out the Saint Sophia Cathedral. It really felt like I was in Russia.

My next itinerary stop was Sun Island, a park full of various snow sculptures.

I hope the people give some perspective on how massive these sculptures were.

By the end of my park exploration the windchill hit -8˚. It was cold as sh*t. If you look closely you will see the next day had a high of 0˚.

Even after riding the metro back to the downtown area and ten minutes in a heated restaurant, my water bottle was still frozen solid.

When I finally returned to my hotel room I was the most physically drained I've felt on the entire trip. 

I woke up early to take a taxi to the train station. The walk from my building to the cab was agonizing. Not even including windchill, the temperature was -11˚. I could already feel myself getting sick. This place was amazing, but I was very ready to leave.

From the vault:

I need to have kids so they can drag me around like this mother and daughter duo.

This ice replica of China's submarine-launched intercontinental missile with a range of 8,000 km. According to its plaque, this missile was first unveiled on September 3, 2025, at the military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Nice.