Having traveled to blue sea and white sand areas like Bali, Indonesia or islands in the Philippines to welcome the new year, but at the beginning of 2025, the family of Ms. Vu Minh Diep (34 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) wants to mark a new year in a very different way.
A few months before her departure, her excitement was mostly about the upcoming experiences in Heilongjiang Province, China, and especially the ice festival.
To the land of ice
Because her daughter is grown up this year, Diep's whole family agreed to celebrate New Year's Eve in a place where it snows in winter.
“Choosing to go to Harbin, China, where winter temperatures drop to -20 degrees Celsius, at the beginning of the new year was probably a unique and memorable experience for us. Especially for me, someone who cannot stand the cold and had to move from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City,” Ms. Diep expressed.
Being a person who loves to travel, this trip to the snowy city was like other trips during the year, Ms. Diep researched and planned everything herself. She was also the “tour guide” for the whole family even though this mother is not “well-versed” in Chinese.
Before the trip, she kept buying winter clothes to cope with the -20 degree Celsius cold because she was most worried about the health of the whole family. Each person wore four layers of clothes, two layers of pants, and applied heat-retaining patches. The trip went exactly as planned by the family.
The family of the 9X female tourist went to prominent locations in Heilongjiang province, such as the largest ski resort in China, Yabuli, with a total length of 30km, Tuyet Huong village hidden in the majestic Yangming mountains, Datudingzi mountain with the highest view, and especially experienced the Harbin international ice festival.
Ice Dream
To fully enjoy the beauty of the festival, Ms. Diep’s family decided to buy tickets and start visiting at 2pm and stay until nearly 10pm. Right from the entrance, visitors can easily feel the joy and crowds of the festival.
Not only Chinese tourists but also many tourists from Asian countries want to experience the beauty of a festival with a history of decades since 1963, with the world's leading scale in Harbin. The ice festival is famous for its giant ice artworks.
From early December, when the temperature drops, workers will start cutting ice blocks from the Songhua River. Then, 30,000 to 50,000 trucks are used to transport the ice to the festival for sculptors to polish and shape the artworks. In about 3 to 4 weeks, the works will be completed for display and welcoming visitors.
With the theme "A Dream on Ice and Snow, A Heart in Asia", this year's festival showcases iconic landscapes of Olympic Council of Asia member countries such as Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Twin Towers or Vietnam's Kueiwen Pavilion, towards the Asian Winter Olympics in February 2025 in Harbin.
Entering the ice park, Ms. Diep was surprised and somewhat overwhelmed by the giant works. From just a thick layer of ice on the river, human power has created miracles. Surely, those crystal-clear ice blocks have been carefully cherished and carved...
Ms. Diep can only use two words "magnificent" to describe this massive ice and snow festival: "I feel like I'm lost in a fairy tale my mother used to tell me. My daughter loves it! When I was little, I probably never thought I would be able to set foot in places like in cartoons like this (laughs)".
More than that, she was able to admire the pure white ice works reflecting the blue sky during the day, gradually transforming into castles, historical sites or scenic spots made of ice decorated with colorful lights at night.
“After visiting the ice works, we also experienced some games here such as ice skating or cycling in the park... However, after about an hour, my family returned to the buildings to warm up and eat to protect our health,” said Ms. Diep.
The time Ms. Diep went to the ice festival was the end of 2024. Therefore, when the sky was covered in darkness, the music performances and fireworks made the atmosphere of the festival even more exciting.
The evening in the ice park is very cold, sometimes hands and feet are freezing but for members of Ms. Diep's family, this will be an unforgettable memory.
