Introduction
The desire for enriching cultural experiences has fuelled the creation and patronage of a vibrant mix of festivals, locally and internationally. The trend has seen the growth and internationalization of myriad multicultural extravaganzas held across the globe in celebration of music, theatre, fashion, food, film, sculpture, and a variety of other artistic representations infused with a local perspective that offers a closer-to-home feel to the festivities. Visitors in festivals have the opportunity to experience the local culture while the locals, in turn, interact with outsiders in what becomes a cultural melting pot that reflects the global village in its truest element. The atmosphere of the festival is often palpable while participants are charged with expectations of new experiences that attract visitors every year or season in the community.
An Overview of the Festival
Deemed to be the leading event of its kind on the globe, the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival has been held every season for the last 35 years. The inaugural event was initiated in 1963 but immediately receded to a long hiatus to reemerge later in 1985. There have been no breaks in-between with the extravaganza taking place each year since. The spectacle traditionally opens on the 5th of January each year and culminates around the 5th of February. Organized by China’s leading authority on tourism, the Harbin festival attracts millions of patrons from around the globe who converge on the grounds for a whole month of cultural enrichment.
Heilongjiang, a province in the northern part of China, has hosted the event since its inception. Ice and snow events in Heilongjiang have increasingly become part of the ice and snow culture and tourism attractions in the province. Heavy snow and solid ice in the winter months have enabled the creation of events that require elements, such as skating, skiing, ice sculpting, and ice architecture, all of which have become staple offerings supporting the growing tourism in the province (Weiming 619-620). Regional, national, and international winter games are also recurrent events in the region, and the numbers of ice and snow events are on the rise. The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival is listed in the top ten attractions for domestic and international tourists.
Harbin City
As Heilongjiang’s capital, Harbin serves as the economic, political, and cultural hub of the region. The vibrant history and geographical location offer the capital an aura of exotic beauty and culture. As Song and St. Clair noted, Harbin is renowned for a dynamic culture of different ethnic groups that inhabit the city and the Heilongjiang province (22). In addition to its proximity to Russia, the capital is also known for the dynamic intersection of eastern and western cultures resulting in an amalgam of culture that is unique to this part of China. Harbin is also an expansive city with fertile soil that supports a vibrant agricultural sector. When combined, these factors promote Harbin as a significant cultural and economic centre that is ripe for further development and exposure. The Hanan Industrial Town is one such substantial development that is set for completion in the future. The neighboring city has revealed the potential to become an important cultural and industrial hub.
The Heilongjiang Comic and Animation centre in New Town is another testament to Harbin’s position as a major cultural and technology hub. Song and St. Clair reported that the new developments benefit from what the region has to offer and also brought in new technology that increases the vitality of industry and culture in Harbin (34). The comic centre has an established demonstration zone for animated films, digital publishing, internet gaming, advertising, broadcasting, training and education, software outsourcing, and other digital platforms. Besides, an extensive collaboration with Japan, the U.S., South Korea, Hong Kong, India, and Singapore is evident, a level of interaction that has undoubtedly facilitated the exchange of cultural knowledge amidst technological developments. The aspect that such key industries have found a home and flourished in Harbin is an indication of its cultural and technological diversity that have directly or indirectly supported the success of Harbin’s International Ice and Snow Festival.
The Vibrant Culture of Heilongjiang
Notably, Heilongjiang is a province committed to cultural preservation and development. In 2011, the party committee made a proactive resolve to promote cultural and business exchanges that enrich locals and visitors alike. Cultural development is among the most effective methods of improving living standards in a population (Beijing International). It is at the core of social management success. Accordingly, the province’s focus has been on the region’s cultural quality and competitiveness and its potential to enrich public life. Besides, it focusses on initiating cultural developments, creating innovative cultural projects, and enabling more efficient utilization of human resources. Hence, this commitment has fuelled the growth and status of the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival and encouraged artists to create grander ice artifacts that reflect this strategy.
Furthermore, to demonstrate the impact of Heilongjiang party committee in stimulating cultural expansion, the region allocated over $500 million in its 2006 to 2010 five-year cultural agenda and an even higher amount for the subsequent two five-year periods (Huiying 1). A substantial portion of these funds has gone towards renovating key districts, including the section that the ice sculpture festival happens. The seriousness with which the province takes its cultural richness is apparent. Funds allotted to cultural expansion have also been instrumental in strengthening the cultural and general infrastructure. Accessing the ice festival has become increasingly fluid with the transportation and accommodation able to support the high influx of visitors into Harbin during the entire month of January.
The international status of the Ice and Snow Festival has allowed the provincial government to attract tourists from around China and beyond. The success of this cultural brand is also a major reason that much of the provincial funding is allocated to strategies for identifying and actualizing similar projects that will attract even more domestic and international visitors to the region. Plans are already in place to inaugurate major cultural events with ideas ranging from food to lifestyle, and geological-themes. Huiying stated that the long-term strategy is to establish large cultural conglomerates that distinguish Heilongjiang from other regions and make it a significant competitor among global cultural destinations (1).
These grand plans are far from mere cultural rhetoric. As of 2011, the strategy had generated notable developments, such as the establishment of more than seven zones for cultural demonstrations, several major cultural enterprises, and an array of cultural activities for the public in the form of community, plaza, campus, military, and enterprise culture (Huiying 1). The International Skiing Festival, The Heilongjiang International Skiing Festival, and the Northeast China Culture Festival are also examples of the cultural mission spearheaded by the provincial government (China Travel). Therefore, the success of the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is responsible for the cultural achievements made in the region.
In terms of infrastructure, the more than 40 years of construction and development means that Heilongjiang has a solid road, rail, and air transport network to support a growing ice and snow tourism sector. Beyond an extensive rail and road coverage, the province has established skiing and skating infrastructure that supports the ice and snow tourism that include a wide array of skiing fields, skating rinks, and visitor reception facilities, which are continually improved and refurbished to meet modern international standards (Weiming 619). The skiing resorts and skating centers are some of the nearby attractions that Harbin Festival participants venture into during the month-long show. Officials are confident that the cultural developments will elevate China as a major influence in terms of culture and enhance national competitiveness. According to Huiying, it is considered as a prominent foundation for widespread social and economic progress (1). It is part of China’s national agenda to expand its global influence by allocating the sector more resources and offering national support.
On the Southeastern side of Heilongjiang, lies Mudanjiang, another key tourist location and essential site for trade with Russia. The city is among the ten most comfortable places in China and has been awarded the Excellent Tourism City recognition (Huiying). A testament to its diversity, this city has several streets named after countries, such as Korea and Russia, which feature outlets offering the cuisine, fashion, and art from the states after which they are named. The city is an essential component and extension of the Harbin International Festival. Mudanjiang also hosts the global-status Snowcastle Festival that features local and international exhibitors in this genre. Being part of Heilongjiang further affirms that the commitment to cultural expansion by the provincial government is comprehensive enough to include multiple sites rather than focus on developing a single hub. Thus, this approach has complemented efforts to make Heilongjiang an authentic cultural brand on a global scale.
The Festival and Adjacent Culture
Exhibitors at the showcase strive to outdo each other through innovation. They incorporate modern techniques and technology to complement traditional methods of ice sculpting. The ice sculpting tradition is as old as a civilization in the region with Renaissance projects revolving around the traditional art of lantern making (Ice Festival Harbin). Lantern sculptures have been a staple since the early days of the Harbin ice festival and have continued to dominate the event over the years. Major competition in the lantern sculpting category is one of the most exciting classifications in which artists offer their interpretations of the yearly theme in creating ice lanterns that incorporate both modern and conventional techniques based on their designer’s preferences.
The Harbin Festival enjoys extensive support both from the local and national government, which have organized the cultural exhibition for decades. During the preparations for the 2019 event, the government noted that the Party Committee was interested in expanding both the content and form in terms of culture for the enjoyment of residents and visitors. The degree of support that the festival experiences from locals is evident from their turnout during the entire period (Ice Festival Harbin). Local sculptors have also produced some of the most magnificent pieces, in the years that the showcase has been in existence, and have won numerous prizes in the various categories. Thus, the success has been attributed to the support that local creators continue to receive from the local government. It is doubtful that such a level of excellence would have been possible in the absence of financial, cultural, and political backing from the authorities. Therefore, it is no surprise that the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival is a brand in the culture category of that Heilongjiang City.
The inaugural event originated from the seasonal traditional ice lantern and the garden party show that transpire during the winter months. With a span of more than 600,000 square metres, the festival grounds are some of the most expansive yet necessary for the display of the magnificent ice sculptures, some as large as entire buildings. The show features elaborately carved sculptures and buildings with ice blocks sourced from the nearby Songhua River (Ice Festival Harbin). Blocks of ice, some almost a tonne in weight, are carefully sliced from the frozen river and shaped into different forms framed by the prevailing yearly theme. The aesthetics of the creations are augmented using technology, including multi-colored lights. Technology has found a way artists create their sculptures. While traditionalists have maintained the age-old method of using hatchets and hand shovels, others have modernized the process by using lasers as a sculpting tool.
Eight years ago, the Harbin International Ice Sculpture Competition was inaugurated to become a yearly attraction. The 2019 festival included 64 competitors from 12 different countries showcasing highly elaborate architectural and sculptural spectacles based on a multi-pronged interpretation of the central theme. Looking at this year’s offering, it is clear that each entrant eschewed a dynamic understanding of the aesthetics of sculpted forms coached in the curator’s unique perspectives on the amalgamation of cultures that are unified by a particular theme (Ice Festival Harbin). While it would be naive to assume that the grand showcase has roundly succeeded in allaying the West’s suspicions of the China’s political and socioeconomic motives in a global world, it is not presumptuous to state that the festival has enabled the demystification of the previously reserved country. During the event, a range of snow and ice activities take place, including Ice Exhibition, Snow Exhibition, Snowfield Football Match, Winter Clothing Display, as well as Winter Swimming. In 1998, the Big Ice and Snow World was incorporated and has since become a major attraction. Beyond the grandeur display of ice shapes, the festival also offers a variety of attractions that include nightly fireworks extravaganzas, ice sleighing along a frozen river, and mass weddings. One may also enjoy a culinary indulgence in an ice restaurant that reflects local and regional cuisine dubbed “hotpot,” in addition to a menu of eclectic dishes from around the globe to captivate even the most critical palette. The festival offers locals and tourists a reason to be festive amid the usually treacherous winters characteristic of Heilongjiang province. In essence, China’s tourism authority capitalizes on the frozen temperatures to assemble talent that in turn transforms bleak ice into masterpieces.
A Festival of Liminal Entities
Framing the Harbin International Ice and Snow winter celebration, as a tourist attraction, can be credited with its success as a global event. Hence, this approach is a recent phenomenon, which has seen cultural festivals increasingly branded as tourist attractions supported by organized efforts by local and national governments (Picard and Robinsons 1). The trend capitalizes on cultural celebrations, festivities, carnivals and rituals that have been part of human society for thousands of years. Festival tourism became an opportunity for outsiders to observe, participate, contribute, and indulge in the culture in a way that benefits local communities. It transcends the monetization of culture to become meaningful platforms for intercultural exchanges.
Notably, this view supports the claim that festivals are not spectacles for observers but rather represents meaningful opportunities for festival participants towards “attaining heightened bodily feelings, expressing, regaining, or reconstructing a sense of desired self and developing authentic intersubjective relationships” (Hyounggon and Tazim 181). Arguably, these feelings are not exclusive to festival-goers, but also relate to those showcasing their creations. For instance, the artists of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival participate yearly and revolve around the closed circuit of other snow and ice festivals around the globe. As a result, lifelong friendships have been forged in the casual meetings on festival grounds. Artists influence each other’s style and cultures as they repeatedly encounter each other in different venues. Some of these relationships have gone beyond the festival between people of different nationalities or regions who would have otherwise never crossed paths. Therefore, this is also true of non-exhibitors. They are what Turner ascribes the term “liminal entities” because they are the passive participants who connect the positions assigned by culture and ceremony among other classifications across international and domestic borders (79). More importantly, they are purveyors of culture who transport it from one destination to the next, from the festival to their communities, and vice versa.
Economic and Infrastructural Growth
The ongoing economic revival in China over the last ten years can be credited with a growing number of liminal entities traversing the country for unique cultural indulgences. It has resulted in the rising popularity of the Harbin festival and its adjacent attractions, especially with domestic visitors. Higher incomes mean that individuals and families have more disposable income that is spent on leisure activities that include domestic tourism (Frey 31). The topographical and climatic differences between the southern and the northern parts of China encourage local touring between the two regions. Specifically, visitors from the south are mesmerized by the vast expanses of snow and ice along with the accompanying activities. Improving standards of living enable the locals to venture into different regions of the vast nation.
Subsequently, the increased interactions between Chinese from different regions as well as with international visitors have profound implications on the culture of Heilongjiang and Harbin city where much of the intermingling takes place. Harbin city is fast becoming a profoundly multicultural city set to rival some of the largest cities in the west (Song et al. 28). The modern outlook, organization, and participants of the Harbin International Sculpting fair echo these observations. The contiguous technology, hospitality, industries, and education industries provide income options to those who opt to make the city their home. A growing expatriate community supported by these industries also contributes to the multicultural development in addition to broadening the range of participants to the Harbin festival. The market for cultural consumption is expected to keep rising in the near and far future.
On another perspective, major lessons are embedded in the different interpretations of the yearly theme. For instance, the Guinness Book of Records title holder for the largest ice sculpture ever created was conceptualized by Canadian sculptors to represent a hero in the medical field (Huiying 1). Norman Bethune was a luminary in medicine for his inventions in medicine currently adopted around the world. The winning namesake sculpture represented Bethune’s most defining values, especially on antiwar and communism sentiments. The intended message by the artists in highlighting these elements generated debates on politics and government. Winning a top prize in a country that is founded on communist ideological beliefs is an interesting angle to peruse in an analysis of the underlying factors in artistic interpretations of festival themes. The central element of the festival is deeply rooted in the history of China (Ice Festival Harbin). It is unsurprising that international participants pay homage to the fact.
Conclusion
From the analysis, the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival has had a significant impact on the cultural and economic development of the city and the larger Heilongjiang province and for specific international communities of festival artists and visitors. The event with a 35-year history has acquired a symbolic brand status and has developed ice sculpting from a regional hobby to an international showcase of artistic talent. It has also transformed this local culture into an influential industry that further strengthens Heilongjiang as an essential economic hub. The global festival has substantially shaped a distinctive aesthetic culture that influences both domestic and international tourists. The festival attracts exhibitors from different parts of the world as well as art and local culture consumers that contribute to the economic success of the region. The festival has propelled the form of tourism it supports into significant growth. The various industries attached to the festival, including catering, hospitality, transportation, entertainment, and site-seeing have also expanded in the shadow of the event and other similar festivals that take place throughout the year.
Works Cited
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Frey, Bruno. “The Economics of Music Festivals.” Journal of Cultural Economics, vol. 18, no. 1, 1994, pp. 29-39.
Huiying Zhou. Heilongjiang Special. Culinary is the Future in Heilongjiang. Heilongjiang Special. China Daily. 2010. www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2011-11/28/content_14175322.htm. Accessed 24 May 2019.
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Hyounggon Kim and Jamal Tazim. “Touristic Quest for Essential Authenticity.” Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 34, no. 1, 2007, pp. 181–201.
Ice Festival Harbin. Origin and History of Harbin Ice Festival. 2019. www.icefestivalharbin.com/article-p153-origin-and-history-of-harbin-ice-festival.html, Accessed 24 May 2019.
Picard, David and Robinsons, Mike. Remaking World’s: Festivals, Tourism, and Social Change: Remaking Worlds. Channel View Publications. 2006.
Song, Wei, and St. Clair, Robert, et al. “Modernization and the Sedimentation of Cultural Space of Harbin: The Stratification of Material Culture.” Intercultural Communication Studies vol. XVII, no. 1, 2008, pp. 22-37.
Turners, Victor. Communities: The Performance Reader. Routledge: New York, 2004.
Weiming, Zhao. “Analysis of Sustainable Development in Ice and Snow Sports Industry in Heilongjiang Province.” 2018 2nd International Conference on Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities. UK: Francis Academic Press. 2018.
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