Three to four days is a typical stay. That gives time for Central Street and Saint Sophia Cathedral, Sun Island and the Siberian Tiger Park across the river, and an evening in Laodaowai. In winter, add a night at Ice and Snow World, when the sculptures are lit from inside.

Almost all of it comes from the frozen Songhua River, which runs through the city. Workers cut thick blocks from the surface with swing saws, and in 2020 the festival used roughly 220,000 cubic meters of river ice. Carvers then shape the blocks with chisels, picks and saws, and colored lights make them glow.

Laodaowai, or Old Daowai, is a historic quarter of Harbin known for its Chinese Baroque buildings, where European-style facades meet Chinese decoration. It is less polished than Central Street and keeps more of old Harbin, with long-running snack shops such as Zhangbaopu, which has sold steamed buns since 1902.