You Can Now Visit the World's Largest Ice and Snow Festival
Undeterred by below freezing temperatures? On Saturday, Jan. 5, the world's largest ice and snow festival officially returns to the Heilongjiang Province of northern China. Basically a winter-themed Disney World, the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival — now in its 35th year — features illuminated ice castles, fireworks displays, exhibitions, sleigh rides and more.
The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival began in 1985, but was inspired by the area's traditional ice lantern show, which started decades earlier. The festival is set near the banks of the Songhua River, equipping sculptors with plenty of ice for construction.
Now, the almost winterlong festival is a massive international affair that boasts three distinct venues, including the popular Harbin Ice and Snow World. Here, visitors can see more than 100 attractions constructed from blocks of ice that are lit by colorful LEDs. Best visited at night, festival-goers this year can't miss the towering Buddha statue constructed with some 4,500 cubic meters of ice, or the ice slides inspired by the Northern Lights that can run more than 1,000 feet in length.
There are two other main venues to explore during the festival: the Sun Island Scenic Area, which is filled with massive snow sculptures and is only open during the day, and Zhaolin Park, which is home to 1,000 smaller LED-lit ice sculptures that are certain to delight young children, and should also be visited after dark.
On most days, evening entrance to the Harbin Ice and Snow World costs RMB 300, or $48, while Sun Island costs RMB 240 ($35) and Zhaolin Park costs RMB 150 ($22), though small children can enjoy the latter for free.
Although the festival runs until the end of February, exhibits often linger longer, weather permitting. Stragglers can also admire the approximately 2,000 snowmen stationed along the Songhua River.
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Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
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Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month