The world's biggest ice and snow festivals in 2016

Carnaval de Quebec, Sapporo Snow Festival (Japan) or Harbin Ice Festival (China) are all big events at the beginning of each new year that attract many tourists to visit.

The world's largest ice and snow festivals are mainly held from January to mid-March every year.

Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival

Chinese people are also eagerly awaiting the country's biggest annual ice and snow event. Harbin - the capital of Heilongjiang province, is a city with harsh winters, located in the northeast of China and near the Russian border, so it is affected by the ice that flows down from Siberia.

The cold winds are the perfect conditions for the annual ice and snow festival in Harbin from January to February every year. The ice sculptures here are large in size, depicting many famous buildings. The display area is especially impressive when lit up with colored lights every night. Harbin has a series of programs taking place during the ice festival such as sculpture competitions, exhibitions, skiing... held from December 22, 2015 to February 2016.

Quebec Carnival

Canada is famous for its harsh winters and also attracts more than a million visitors to Carnaval de Quebec - one of the largest winter festivals in the world. Visitors have the opportunity to admire ice sculptures scattered throughout Quebec City. Activities and events also bring many colors to the festival such as costume parties, ice bathing competitions... The 2016 festival will be held from January 29 to February 14.

Carnaval de Quebec attracts a lot of tourists every year. Photo: seattlestravels

Sapporo Snow Festival

Every February, people in Sapporo - the largest city on the northern island of Hokkaido in Japan - hold the largest snow festival in the land of the rising sun. The ice and snow creations seem to be breathed life into their delicate, vivid beauty. The 2016 Sapporo Snow Festival will be held from February 5 to February 18, marking the 67th anniversary of the event.

Japanese castle built from tons of snow. Photo: gadgetace

The sculptures are diverse with many themes: temples, dragons, cartoon characters... The festival will take place at Odori Park, Sapporo city.

World Ice Sculpture Championship

The United States also holds an annual ice sculpture competition in Alaska - the largest and coldest state in the United States. Originating in the 1990s, the ice sculpture competition has been held in the city of Fairbanks with an increasing number of teams. In 2016, the competition was held from February 29 to March 27 with more than 70 teams from all over the world.

Impressive works at the annual ice sculpture competition. Photo: farm8

According to vnexpress.net