Photographs by Sonia Paz Pachi Baronvine

Winter can be many things...cold, rainy, dark and generally a bit gloomy! However in Harbin, a village situated in the north-east of China, things are far from bleak.

From the 5th of January to the end of February, for the 28th year running, Harbin gives rise to one of the largest ice festivals in the world - think vast ice sculptures, bright lights and fantastic architecture.

Known for its chilly temperatures, sometimes dropping to as low as -130 degrees Celsius, the village is the ideal environment for the festival to take place.

The magnificent ice sculptures dwarf all those who visit the event. Sightseers are able to walk around and absorb the sheer magnitude of the monuments, appreciating the skillful craftsmanship, as well as slide down icy slides and climb up steps to reach ice-castles! At night, the monuments are lit up from within with LED lights, creating a magical scene for spectators.

In 2011, Harbin saw world record sized snow sculptures, some larger than two football fields and others up to a whopping 50 metres tall.

A snapshot of the festival’s history

It’s said that the tradition originated from the ice lanterns local fisherman used to make during winter; it was a way to keep their lanterns alight when out on the lake.

Then, what started off as a relatively small festival, attracting mainly Chinese visitors, became an international event and competition on the same scale as the Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan and Quebec’s Winter Carnival in Canada, drawing in hundreds of tourists from around the globe.

As China’s economy has grown, so has the scale of the festival and since 2001, the festival has been held on Sun Island Park in the Songhua River!

Would you brave the frosty village to see the fantastical ice sculptures? Leave us a comment...

Not to be missed