Travel China 中国

Ice & Snow

冰雪

Ice cathedrals, rime forests and the ski resorts built for the 2022 Games.

Between late December and February the northeast becomes a genuinely unique winter destination. Harbin carves a city of illuminated ice blocks out of the Songhua River; Jilin's riverbank grows rime frost thick enough to bend branches; Chongli, an hour by rail from Beijing, inherited the 2022 Olympic pistes. Dress for −25°C and it is one of the best-value winter trips anywhere.

02Covered in depth

2 destinations in this theme

Jilin·2–3 days

Changbai Mountain 长白山

A crater lake of impossible blue in a volcano on the North Korean border, sacred to Manchus and Koreans alike.

Heilongjiang·3 days

Harbin Ice Festival 哈尔滨冰雪大世界

A city of illuminated ice, cut from a frozen river in blocks and rebuilt every winter at −25°C.

+Also worth knowing

4 more from the full index

Jilin Rime Island吉林雾凇岛 Jilin

Warm water from a dam upstream keeps the Songhua open in −25°C air, coating the riverbank willows in thick rime frost.
Mohe & Beiji Village漠河北极村 Heilongjiang

China's northernmost point at 53°N, where winter hits −45°C and the aurora is occasionally visible in summer.
Wudalianchi五大连池 UNESCO Heilongjiang

Five lakes dammed by lava from eruptions in 1719–21, with cinder cones, mineral springs and black basalt fields.
Zhalong Nature Reserve扎龙 Heilongjiang

Reed marsh holding a large share of the world's remaining wild red-crowned cranes. Daily flight releases for visitors.