Songhua River Ice and Snow Carnival

Natural ice playground on the river (ice sledges / ice bumper cars / winter swimming shows), Songhua River ice-harvesting site. Each winter once the river freezes, the Songhua River surface in front of the Flood Control Memorial Tower turns into a natural ice-and-snow playground: ice sledges, ice bumper cars, snowmobiles and snow tubes spread along the river, with free entry and small per-activity charges—a long-standing Harbin winter tradition of 'going onto the river'. In winter-swimming pools cut into the ice, hardy swimmers breaking through to dive in draw wave after wave of cheers, and the river mist at -20°C steams in the sunlight like a fairyland. During the December ice-harvesting season you can watch crews lined up cutting river ice—a spectacular sight; most of the ice used by Ice and Snow World is harvested from this stretch of river. At sunset the river turns gold, and the silhouettes of ice harvesters and skaters are classic photo subjects; non-slip shoes are a safety must.

Getting there: River surface in front of the Flood Control Memorial Tower