This winter I’ve heard many people talk about braving the cold of Harbin to see the famous Ice and Snow Festival in person. From someone who’s lived there and has seen the festival multiple times, I’m not exaggerating at all when I tell you that it’s insanely cold there!
Now that’s not to say that a trip to Harbin this winter isn’t worth it. You’ll be awed by some of the most incredible ice sculptures and the world’s longest ice slide as well as have the opportunity to dine in a hot pot restaurant that’s completely made of ice. And when you’re not living out your Frozen fantasy at the festival, Harbin is home to some seriously tasty Dongbei cuisine.
But here’s the downside. Since Harbin is known as the city of ice and snow, they make the majority of their tourism money during the winter when people everywhere flood there to see the famous festival. This means that not only are flights and hotels expensive, but they’re also hard to book.
So what if you want to see some cool ice sculptures but don’t want to make the trip all the way to Harbin? Well, in Beijing there’s a (much smaller scale) place for you to do just that.
The Longqingxia Ice Lantern Festival in Yanqing can be fun weekend out for the family. This is an indoor and outdoor festival. The giant sculptures are all located indoors where they can control the temperature. Outside, you’ll find more of the ice-themed entertainments.
Each year’s theme is different and this year’s theme is “Time Shines, One Glance Then Thousand Years”. The official opening date is still yet to be announced but similar to previous years, it’s expected to open in the first few weeks of January and run all the way until late February.
Visitors can enjoy ice biking, ice bumper cars, ride snowmobiles, and play games like ice tug of war. For the upcoming festival, they’ve added a culinary element to it as well with a food festival. So put on your ear muffs and head out to Yanqing for a fun ice filled weekend.
Prices:
RMB 100 per adult and free for kids under 1.2 meters. It’s important to note that the RMB 100 ticket is only for admission. If you want to take part in the entertainment that they’ve planned there it’s better to get the RMB 156 ticket instead.
Find it:
Longqing Gorge Scenic Area
No 2, Longqingxia Commercial Street, Gucheng Village, Jiuxian Town, Yanqing District
北京市延庆区旧县镇古城村龙庆峡商业街2号
If traveling for over an hour all the way out to Yanqing sounds a bit intimidating for you, Horizon Travel offers a one day group tour of the festival. For RMB 180 per adult and RMB 160 for kids below 120cm, they’ll take you to the festival in a private bus in the afternoon. You’ll get an hour to exdplore the festival before returning to the city center with the rest of the group. This is essentially for the transportation. Tickets to the festival and meals are excluded.
To get in touch with someone from Horizon Travel, scan the QR code below.
Images: Mina Yan
