Northeast China

This year's Harbin Ice and Snow World is the 26th, with the theme of "Ice and Snow Shared Dream, Asia United Heart". The total planned area of the park has been expanded to 1 million square meters, using 300,000 cubic meters of ice and snow. With the 2025 Asian Winter Games to be held in Harbin, many ice constructions in the park fully integrate elements of the Asian Winter Games, presenting the harmonious blend of Asian multiculturalism.

Let's take a look at the must-see ice constructions in this "world's largest ice and snow theme park" this year.

The main tower "Asia United Heart" and the landscape gate "Ice and Snow Shared Dream" complement each other. The main image gate "Ice and Snow Shared Dream" is designed with inspiration from the theme slogan of this Winter Olympics. The shapes of "ice and snow" and "heart" are connected by "dream clouds", serving as the iconic entrance to the park. The main tower "Asia United Heart" is the tallest and largest single ice construction in the park, inspired by the official emblem of the Olympic Council of Asia. The heart of the tower is in the shape of the sun, symbolizing the vigorous development of Asia and Asian sports.

"Landmark landscapes" from 42 countries and 3 regions in Asia are divided into five regions: East Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, allowing visitors to experience the collision between ice and snow culture and the architectural culture of different countries and regions.

In front of the ancient and solemn St. Sophia Cathedral in Harbin, a landmark building in the Northern Byzantine style, the international fashion brand Burberry and Harbin Madiel Tourism Investment Group collaborated for the first time, adopting a "brand + culture" strategy to create a modern and fashionable British pop-up store belonging to Harbin.

The space design is inspired by classic elements of British parks, especially the pavilions in London parks, while incorporating local innovations to suit Harbin's cold atmosphere. The pop-up store's all-green decorations, exquisite carvings, and sturdy structure, along with the iconic equestrian knight logo at the top, complement the Sophia Cathedral, guarding passersby and echoing Burberry's design concept of "It's Always Burberry Weather".

Inside the pavilion is a green fairytale box full of British charm. Burberry carefully arranged a series of exhibits, as well as interactive experiences such as board games, tea and dining windows, and British landscape-themed postcards.

Harbin Yabuli Ski Resort is a famous ski resort in China, with Asia's longest alpine ski slope and China's largest comprehensive snow sports training center. Designed by Ma Yansong, the permanent venue of the Yabuli Entrepreneurs Forum is an absolute must-see building after arriving at the Yabuli Ski Resort.

The entire building resembles a large white tent, gently drifting from the mountaintop to the foot of the mountain, disappearing into the snow. The soft roof is made of white aluminum plates, extending outwards, appearing to be suspended in the air, making the building appear extremely light. The undulating roofline is like snow marks carved into the earth, echoing the ripples of the distant snow-capped mountains.

The project covers an area of 16,000 square meters and has more than 20 well-equipped meeting rooms, a library, and an exhibition hall. It is a building that integrates the functions of meetings, museums, training, think tanks, and business schools.

Every winter, this ancient snow mountain uses snow as ink, mountains as paper, and wind as a brush, creating a ever-changing natural landscape.

This year, with the theme of "Bronze Awakening, Old Friends Return", there is another new reason to make this appointment with Changbai Mountain.

Mentioning "Cloud Top Palace," people always think of the floating palace built by Wang Zanghai in the depths of Changbai Mountain in Xu Xiake's novel "Notes on Tomb Robbing." Now, this mysterious scene has been reproduced in reality, presented in the form of snow sculpture art—the Changbai Mountain "Cloud Top Palace." This snow sculpture covers an area of about 15,000 square meters, using 80,000 cubic meters of snow. The main building is 20 meters high and 60 meters wide, vividly interpreting the fantasy scene in the novel.

Located in the "ice and snow golden latitude belt" at 43 degrees north latitude, Jilin Vanke Songhua Lake Resort is known as one of the "three major powder snow bases in the world." Last year's collaboration with Dior to bring the Paris "30 Montaigne Avenue" to the snow country attracted attention; what surprises are in store this year?

The Canadian top outdoor brand ARC'TERYX has opened the world's first RSC snow field limited-time experience space (ReBIRD Service Center) in the resort area, integrating the sustainable concept of ReBIRDtm recycling and reuse into skiing, from equipment maintenance to service experience. The long-term concept allows passion to continue and gives the ice and snow a deeper meaning.

The RSC exterior design is creative, deconstructing and recombining 137 pieces of old clothing materials into a multicolored tent, transforming it from a shelter to a place for sharing experiences and free thinking.

The interior design incorporates the natural landscape of Songhua Lake, with the ice-like installation as the visual focal point. Combined with the wood texture of the outdoor cabin, its winding shape intertwines with the surrounding environment, creating a modern yet warm atmosphere. Internal functions include a maintenance service area, a mountain classroom, a coffee relaxation area, and an equipment display area. The entire space design not only reflects the brand's pursuit of sustainable development but also allows skiers to pay more attention to equipment maintenance and environmental protection while enjoying the fun of skiing, practicing respect for nature.

On the slope at the edge of the forest beside an advanced track (G1) coming down from the top of the Songhua Lake resort snow field, there is a building that coexists with nature—the "Forest Stage" viewing platform. People skiing down this track will first interact with it visually and spatially, then driven by curiosity, enter this unique resting and viewing place.

This viewing platform, designed by Wang Shuo of META Studio, is known as the "China's most aloof building." Through the strong twist between the upper wooden platform and the lower concrete base, it creates a sequence of spatial experiences. At the same time, it uses rough natural materials such as fair-faced concrete and burnt cedar planks to create a delicate contrast. On the viewing layer, the lake view of Songhua Lake and the winding mountains are spread before the eyes, presenting the breathtaking beauty of nature.

As the main competition area of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Chongli has ushered in tremendous opportunities for urban construction and ice and snow industry development, becoming an "ice and snow paradise" for winter travel in North China. Here, there are not only complete ice and snow sports and reception facilities but also many winter Olympic architectural works worth seeing.

"Snow Ruyi" is an iconic venue for the Zhangjiakou competition area of the 2022 Winter Olympics, covering an area of 62 hectares. The shape of its competition venue matches the S-shaped curve of the traditional Chinese ornament "Ruyi." In addition to the competition area, spectator area, and comprehensive area designed for the Games, the designers also specially designed a tourist-exclusive route from the bottom to the top for post-Games use. In addition, the large circular ring at the top, like a UFO, is a summit club that can accommodate 500 people for communication activities, mainly for post-Games sightseeing and meetings.

The Chongli Center is a comprehensive cultural project with two halls and one field, including a Winter Olympics and ice and snow theme museum, the Chongli District Library, and a large comprehensive cultural square. The design borrows the natural site of facing the city and backing the mountain, creating a "mountain" and following the "mountain" to create a scene. The fair-faced concrete ribs are hidden in logic and order, invisible with glass curtain walls, curved domes, and square landscape platforms, creating a vibrant space where one can overlook the city and mountains and integrate into life, providing visitors with rich cultural experiences.

Southeast Tibet is known as the "Alps" of Tibet. Here, there are dense pyramid-shaped mountain ranges, abundant oceanic glaciers, countless dreamy blue ice caves, and the most magical Tibetan culture. Such extreme scenery is shocking, pure, close at hand, yet unreachable.

So, in this "end of the world" like polar region, what kind of existence is architecture?

Zizhu Temple, a 3000-year-old temple located in a high-altitude, cold region at 4800 meters above sea level, is known as the "City in the Sky." It is the largest, oldest, and most popular Bon religion temple in Tibet. From a distance, the temple complex seems to hang from the cliff face. The temple buildings are staggered in height, and the colorful halls shimmer under the sunlight, with prayer flags fluttering in the wind. Walking counter-clockwise around this cliffside temple allows one to experience the height and purity of faith.

If you've experienced outdoor adventures in the Lugu Glacier, then you absolutely can't miss the luxurious wild hotel hidden within the glacier - Songzan Lugu Mountain Residence. Lugu Mountain Residence is the highest-altitude and most challenging construction project in Songzan's history, masterfully designed by architect Qi Shanshan.

At an altitude of 4200 meters, amidst the remote glaciers, Lugu Mountain Residence is nestled on a stunning cliff. Utilizing the original terrain, nearly half of the building is hidden within the mountain, harmonizing with the texture of the original village. Facing the Lugu Glacier, the spatial design of Lugu Mountain Residence revolves around the glacier landscape, immersing people in a secluded paradise of snow-capped mountains, glaciers, and lakes. Simply pausing for a moment allows one to feel the wondrous power of nature.

When we arrive in Southwest China, the people of Bashu, beneath the Shu Mountains, also have their own winter wonderland. After a heavy snowfall, the forests and grasslands of Xiannv Mountain in Wulong are covered in snow and ice, creating a beautiful scene of a snow-covered forest. Numerous tourists come to enjoy the snow, ski, and experience the joys of winter.

The Forest Eye Viewpoint, a Chinese version of Vessel, is a key attraction in Xiannv Mountain's "Treetop Walk" forest interactive experience and has become a popular winter destination for tourists. It uses a steel and wood structure with a small waist design. The tower is 41 meters high, with a top altitude of 1880 meters. Tourists can enjoy a 360-degree panoramic view of the 330,000-mu southern snowfield. Its spiral walkway design provides a variety of viewing angles and experiences as tourists ascend to the top. Inside, there is a 96-meter-long "Cloud Spiral" slide that takes only 16 seconds to travel from the top of the vast forest to the ground.

With the booming development of the domestic "ice and snow +" industry, more and more unique attractions and travel methods are being discovered, adding endless fun to our winter travels. As the tourism market continues to mature, we should pay more attention to the concept of sustainable tourism, protecting these precious natural and cultural heritages so that they can bring joy and inspiration to more people for a long time to come.