The world’s biggest ice park has just opened in China, breaking records

Visitors enjoy an ice slide as they visit the annual Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province, Monday, Jan. 8, 2024.
Visitors enjoy an ice slide as they visit the annual Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province, Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. | Wayne Zhang

A brand new indoor theme park has opened in the city of Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province in China, to complement its outdoor snowy theme park and annual Harbin Ice and Snow Festival.

The theme park will give visitors this opportunity to enjoy Harbin’s cooler temperatures year-round.

During the opening ceremony, the Guinness World Records certified the park as the “world’s largest indoor ice and snow theme park,” per CNN.

What is Harbin Ice and Snow World?

“In 1999, to salute the new millennium form 2000, Harbin municipal government built up a shining icy and snowy Disney Land,” says Harbin’s Ice Festival website. “Since then, the fairy tales about ice and snow in Harbin began.”

Harbin Ice and Snow World plays a pivotal role in the annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, where “not only can you see the amazing colorful illuminated ice and snow sculptures but also enjoy various interesting cultural activities and winter sports.”

The new indoor theme park opened on July 6 and aims to“extending the city’s tourist season and transforming it into a year-round destination,” per CNN. The outdoor Harbin Ice and Snow World is open from around Dec. 20 to February or March of the next year.

The location covers 23,800 square meters, according to Global Times, and has nine “themed areas” with 13 “experience projects.”

Guests can view colorful ice sculptures — all while dressing warmly, of course. The facility reportedly maintains cold temperatures of -8 C to -12 C.

“Compared with the outdoor Harbin Ice-Snow World in winter, the indoor attraction features more colorful ice decorations, with more intricate and delicate designs,” per Global Times. “Through special techniques, these colorful ice sculptures were tinted using edible pigments, making them both vibrant and environmentally friendly. Sculptures of fruit, donuts, ice cream and cakes are particularly eye-catching.”

Is the theme park open to the public?

The park is open to the public, per CNN.

According to People’s Daily, Sun Zemin, deputy director of the sales and marketing department of Harbin Ice and Snow World Park Co., said that the park “attracted over 3,000 visitors on its first day and is expected to receive numerous tourists during the summer holiday.”