Harbin Ice Festival Tour and China Snow Town

Upon your arrival at Harbin Airport or the high-speed railway station, your tour guide will greet you and provide transportation to your hotel. The remainder of the day is at your leisure for exploration. Your guide will be happy to offer recommendations, or you can choose to relax at the hotel.

Evening Ideas (Exploration on Your Own):

In the evening, visiting Zhaolin Park is a fantastic option. Zhaolin Park is one of the three main venues of the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival. Here, you can marvel at the world’s largest outdoor ice lantern show. Take a leisurely walk through the “ocean of ice lanterns,” where you’ll find over a thousand exquisite artworks that change annually. Immerse yourself in the joy of the grand World Ice and Snow Festival.

After breakfast, your guide and driver will escort you to China Snow Town, the No. 1 “Xuexiang” in Chinese located in  in Shuangfeng Wood Farm in Mudanjiang City, about 300 kilometers (200 miles) from downtown Harbin. The drive duration will take about 5-6 hours.

As a fairytale town with snowfall period of seven months, China Snow Town boasts the most wonderful views, when the racecourses, grasslands, and cottages are capped with thick snow. 

After checking into the hotel, you will be free to go sightseeing on your own. You can climb up the mountain along the plank road to have a panoramic view of the town, visit the Culture Exhibition Hall of China’s Snow Town (a small museum), or do some fun recreational snow activities, such as skiing, dog-drawn sledding, snowmobiling (extra fee is required) etc. or just simply having a snow fight, and exploring the snow maze. For photography fans, the town has amazing sunset views, and the lantern-lit night sight also makes for good photos, the best spots to shoot the snow mushrooms is Dream Home. 

Tips: Best location for Night View: Night scene is the essence of China Snow Town. There are three best locations to appreciate night view – Dream Home, Xueyue Avenue and Fairytale World Plank Road.

You will stay one night at a hotel in the China Snow Town.

Today’s highlight is Yangcaoshan Hill, one of the most beautiful spots in the vicinity of Snow Town, about 5km away. Rising to an altitude of approximately 1,250 meters above sea level, it stands as the tallest peak in the region and is renowned for its breathtaking beauty. The hill features rare trees and is considered the ideal vantage point for witnessing both sunrise and sunset. To capture the sunrise’s beauty, make sure to arrive early, as the sun typically rises between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. during the winter. The moment the first rays of the red sun cast their glow upon the expansive snow-covered landscape is truly magnificent. Subsequently, the hill is bathed in red and golden sunlight, infusing life with vitality.

In the early morning, hop aboard a mini sightseeing bus to reach Yangcaoshan Hill. This journey promises to be one of the most memorable experiences during your visit to China Snow Town. As one of the tour’s highlights, when you reach the hill, you’ll have the opportunity to witness the first rays of the beautiful sunrise.

After return from Yangcaoshan Hill, you will make dumplings with local people and have your own dumplings as your lunch. Following lunch, we’ll depart and head back to Harbin. 

In the morning, your 5-day private Harbin tour continues with a visit to Sun Island Park, a stunning location that hosts the Harbin International Snow Sculpture Art Expo. Sun Island is known as the birthplace of China’s snow sculpture art, and each year it draws snow sculpture masters from around the world. Enormous snow sculptures are created, each with its own unique meaning, and visitors can enjoy the snow in various ways, including snowmobiling and snow golf.

Afterward, you will be transported to the Siberian Tiger Park. For a close-up experience, you have the option to take a sightseeing car with protective cages that traverse through herds of tigers in an open-air setting. The remainder of the day is yours to relish the enchanting Ice and Snow World, you’ll enter the park at 3:30 pm, just before darkness falls around 4 pm. Here, you can admire the colorful and spectacularly lit ice sculptures, enjoy an indoor performance, take an ice bike for a spin, and have fun exploring the ice labyrinth, ice slide, and ice castle.

After breakfast, your day will begin with a visit to St. Sophia Cathedral, a historic Orthodox church. Today, the cathedral serves as a symbol of Harbin and is repurposed as the Harbin Architectural Art Gallery, showcasing various souvenirs. Following your exploration of the cathedral, your guide will take you to discover the renowned Central Street in Harbin. This pedestrian street features exotic Russian architecture and is lined with upscale restaurants, shopping malls, and craft workshops. If you’re seeking unique souvenirs, we recommend considering Russian dolls and lacquerware.

Afterward, you can enjoy an old Harbin tour by walking from the pedestrian street to the lesser-known Laodaowai Area. Exploring this old baroque-style district of Harbin is a fantastic experience, reminiscent of a journey through time and history. You’ll gain insights into the history and local life of Harbin from a century ago and more during this city walk, and you’ll also have the opportunity to savor delicious local cuisine.

If time permits, drive to Jiuzhan park at the Songhua River, where you can watch the winter swimmers do the winter swimming in the so cold water in the Songhua River and many other people having fun on ice, such as skating car, sliding, winter fishing, etc. on Songhua River.
After that, Harbin airport or railway station drop off for your onward travel, end this 5 day Harbin tour package.