It's hard to imagine, but this entire building is
made of ice! Read on to find out about the
amazing ice festival they have each year in
China.
made of ice! Read on to find out about the
amazing ice festival they have each year in
China.
Winter Wonderland: Harbin, China
The Harbin Ice Festival is held in the town of Harbin, located in
China. Each year, thousands of tourists travel to China to see the
amazing pieces of art and architecture, all made of snow and ice.
The temperature in Harbin during the festival is about forty degrees
below zero. Here in Harbin, it stays below freezing for over half the
year! During winter, the sun sets as early as 4:00 in the afternoon!
With a climate like this, you can see why the snow sculptures do not
melt away during the winter.
The Harbin Ice Festival has been an annual event since 1985, but
the tradition of snow and ice carving has been practiced in China for
hundreds of years. The ice festival, famous throughout the world, is
held each year from January 5th through February 15th. Teams from
many countries come to compete in the contests for snow and ice
building. Over 600 people compete from about 40 different
countries. There are two main categories in the ice festival – snow
carving and ice carving.
To make the amazing snow carvings, teams start by scooping snow
into a large box. This is very similar to how we would put sand into a
pail to begin a sand castle. The box is missing its top, and so the
team can fill it with snow and then remove the box to get a nice
square shape. Teams then use equipment like ladders and chisels
to shape the snow into amazing and beautiful pieces of art.
The ice buildings are one of the most beautiful sights to see in
Harbin. Blocks of ice are taken from the frozen Songhua river, and
are stacked and shaped into magnificent buildings, with lights buried
in the ice. The city lights up in dazzling color, like an electric
rainbow. Imagine eating in an ice restaurant, or staying in an ice
hotel! Massive buildings are constructed for the festival, made
completely from ice. People can explore the slippery buildings,
climbing stairs of ice and walking down enormous frozen hallways.
Some of the most popular attractions at the festival are famous
Chinese buildings and temples, carved from ice. One year, a
gigantic ice slide was made. The artists carved it into the shape of
the Great Wall of China, and children and adults had a blast sliding
down! Another time, an enormous ship was constructed. People
enjoyed walking aboard and looking out over the beautiful lights from
the ice sculptures. Anything is possible in Harbin.
China. Each year, thousands of tourists travel to China to see the
amazing pieces of art and architecture, all made of snow and ice.
The temperature in Harbin during the festival is about forty degrees
below zero. Here in Harbin, it stays below freezing for over half the
year! During winter, the sun sets as early as 4:00 in the afternoon!
With a climate like this, you can see why the snow sculptures do not
melt away during the winter.
The Harbin Ice Festival has been an annual event since 1985, but
the tradition of snow and ice carving has been practiced in China for
hundreds of years. The ice festival, famous throughout the world, is
held each year from January 5th through February 15th. Teams from
many countries come to compete in the contests for snow and ice
building. Over 600 people compete from about 40 different
countries. There are two main categories in the ice festival – snow
carving and ice carving.
To make the amazing snow carvings, teams start by scooping snow
into a large box. This is very similar to how we would put sand into a
pail to begin a sand castle. The box is missing its top, and so the
team can fill it with snow and then remove the box to get a nice
square shape. Teams then use equipment like ladders and chisels
to shape the snow into amazing and beautiful pieces of art.
The ice buildings are one of the most beautiful sights to see in
Harbin. Blocks of ice are taken from the frozen Songhua river, and
are stacked and shaped into magnificent buildings, with lights buried
in the ice. The city lights up in dazzling color, like an electric
rainbow. Imagine eating in an ice restaurant, or staying in an ice
hotel! Massive buildings are constructed for the festival, made
completely from ice. People can explore the slippery buildings,
climbing stairs of ice and walking down enormous frozen hallways.
Some of the most popular attractions at the festival are famous
Chinese buildings and temples, carved from ice. One year, a
gigantic ice slide was made. The artists carved it into the shape of
the Great Wall of China, and children and adults had a blast sliding
down! Another time, an enormous ship was constructed. People
enjoyed walking aboard and looking out over the beautiful lights from
the ice sculptures. Anything is possible in Harbin.
Harbin is located in Northern China. Here, a
man carves lips onto his snow sculpture to
get ready for the ice festival.
man carves lips onto his snow sculpture to
get ready for the ice festival.
Participants in the ice festival use blocks of
ice (above) to build amazing buildings like
the ones shown below.
ice (above) to build amazing buildings like
the ones shown below.
After you've carefully read the passage, LOOK BACK at the story and try to answer
these questions. Underline in the passage if it helps you. When you are finished, go
back and....CHECK YOUR WORK! You can scroll down to the very bottom of the
page to get the answers and check to see if you were right! Good luck!
***It might be easier for you to copy and paste the passage and the questions into Word or another program
and then print the entire thing.****
1. Which words from the story have the same meaning:
a. enormous, gigantic
b. buildings, art
c. ice, snow
d. ladders, chisels
2. According to the story, what is the first step in making a snow carving?
a. putting on your jacket and mittens
b. scooping snow into a box
c. getting ice blocks from the Songhua River
d. adding lights to make the carving pretty
3. Where in China is Harbin?
a. in Southern China
b. in Northern China
c. Harbin is actually in Japan
d. Harbin is in Western China, near the Songhua River
4. The author compares the city of Harbin to:
a. an electric rainbow
b. a carnival
c. a beautiful snow carving
d. a cold climate
5. According to the story, a chisel is most likely:
a. something to climb up
b. something to wet the snow
c. something to eat
d. a tool
6. The author compares snow sculpting to:
a. bowling
b. making a sand castle
c. painting
d. decorating a Christmas tree
7. The author probably wrote this story to:
a. inform you about an annual ice festival in China
b. persuade you to visit Harbin every year
c. entertain you with a fiction story about an ice festival
d. persuade you to enter the ice carving contest
8. The snow sculptures probably do not melt because:
a. Harbin has special ice that does not melt
b. The ice comes from the Songhua river
c. Harbin has a cold climate and the sun sets early
d. The lights keep the ice from melting
9. Read the following sentence from the passage:
Some of the most popular attractions at the festival are famous Chinese buildings and temples, carved from ice.
The phrase "popular attractions" probably means:
a. fun rides, like at Disney
b. places people like to visit
c. places that are not crowded
d. beautiful buildings
10. How cold is it during the ice festival?
a. about 30 degrees
b. about 30 degrees below zero
c. about 40 degrees below zero
d. about 40 degrees
(For answers, scroll to the bottom of the page....and by the way...did you CHECK YOUR WORK???)
these questions. Underline in the passage if it helps you. When you are finished, go
back and....CHECK YOUR WORK! You can scroll down to the very bottom of the
page to get the answers and check to see if you were right! Good luck!
***It might be easier for you to copy and paste the passage and the questions into Word or another program
and then print the entire thing.****
1. Which words from the story have the same meaning:
a. enormous, gigantic
b. buildings, art
c. ice, snow
d. ladders, chisels
2. According to the story, what is the first step in making a snow carving?
a. putting on your jacket and mittens
b. scooping snow into a box
c. getting ice blocks from the Songhua River
d. adding lights to make the carving pretty
3. Where in China is Harbin?
a. in Southern China
b. in Northern China
c. Harbin is actually in Japan
d. Harbin is in Western China, near the Songhua River
4. The author compares the city of Harbin to:
a. an electric rainbow
b. a carnival
c. a beautiful snow carving
d. a cold climate
5. According to the story, a chisel is most likely:
a. something to climb up
b. something to wet the snow
c. something to eat
d. a tool
6. The author compares snow sculpting to:
a. bowling
b. making a sand castle
c. painting
d. decorating a Christmas tree
7. The author probably wrote this story to:
a. inform you about an annual ice festival in China
b. persuade you to visit Harbin every year
c. entertain you with a fiction story about an ice festival
d. persuade you to enter the ice carving contest
8. The snow sculptures probably do not melt because:
a. Harbin has special ice that does not melt
b. The ice comes from the Songhua river
c. Harbin has a cold climate and the sun sets early
d. The lights keep the ice from melting
9. Read the following sentence from the passage:
Some of the most popular attractions at the festival are famous Chinese buildings and temples, carved from ice.
The phrase "popular attractions" probably means:
a. fun rides, like at Disney
b. places people like to visit
c. places that are not crowded
d. beautiful buildings
10. How cold is it during the ice festival?
a. about 30 degrees
b. about 30 degrees below zero
c. about 40 degrees below zero
d. about 40 degrees
(For answers, scroll to the bottom of the page....and by the way...did you CHECK YOUR WORK???)
For more information on Harbin and to see more pictures, follow the
links!
Harbin - Link One
Harbin - Link Two
links!
Harbin - Link One
Harbin - Link Two
Answers:
1. A
2. B
3. B
4. A
5. D
6. B
7. A
8. C
9. B
10. C
1. A
2. B
3. B
4. A
5. D
6. B
7. A
8. C
9. B
10. C
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Welcome To...
Harbin, China
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