Harbin, also called ice city, is the capital of Heilongjiang Province, which is the largest center of politics, economy and culture in North China. It covers an area of 530.68 million square meters with a population of 9.46 million. It is located on the Songliao Plateau along the Songhuajiang River, which is famous as a summer resort.

The temperature in Harbin reaches forty below zero, both farenheit and centigrade, and stays below freezing nearly half the year. The city is actually further north than notoriously cold Vladivostok, Russia, just 300 miles away. So what does one do here every winter? Hold an outdoor festival, of course! Rather than suffer the cold, the residents of Harbin celebrate it, with an annual festival of snow and ice sculptures and competitions. The festival officially runs from January 5 through February 15, but often opens a week early and runs into March, since it's usually still cold enough. This is the amazing sculpture made of snow greeting visitors to the snow festival in 2003.

Snow and ice sculpture in Harbin dates back to Manchu times, but the first organized show was held in 1963, and the annual festival itself only started in 1985. Since then, the festival has grown into a massive event, bringing in over a million tourists from all over the world every winter.

哈尔滨，雅称"冰城"，是黑龙江省会，中国东北北部最大的政治、经济、文化中心。其面积53068万平方公里，人口946万人（市区330）。地处富庶的松辽平原，松花江沿岸，是著名的避暑胜地。

哈尔滨冬天的温度可以低达零下40度（无论是华氏还是摄氏），因而几乎半年都是在寒冷中度过。这座城市比那以寒冷著称300英里外的俄罗斯符拉迪沃斯托克还靠北。那么，人们在冬天都做些什么呢？当然是在户外举办节日！哈尔滨的市民不会只是忍受寒冷，而是每年举行一次冰雪艺术节才进行庆祝。每年的冰雪节于1月5日至2月15日举行，而由于温度足够低通常会提早一个星期并延迟至3月。

哈尔滨的冰雪雕刻要追溯到满清时期，而第一次组织展览是在1963年，每年的冰雪节则是从1985年开始的。自那以后，冰雪节演变成为重大的盛事， 每年吸引国内外数百万游客的光临。