Winter with little ice in Harbin

Every winter, dozens of workers in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, brave the bitter cold to mine ice from the Songhua River. The ice blocks are the main material for the giant sculptures at the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, an event that attracts millions of visitors each year.

The 5th Harbin Ice Harvest Festival began on December 7, attracting a large number of visitors with traditional rituals and performances. The event marks the beginning of the annual ice and snow festival season. The world's largest ice and snow festival officially opens in January 2025.

However, this year's autumn in Heilongjiang has been long and the warm weather has caused the river to freeze later and the ice layer to be thinner than usual.

"At the end of December every year, the ice is usually about 57-58 cm thick, but this year the ice is only about 44-45 cm thick," said Hoang Vu, 52, who has more than 20 years of experience cutting ice in Harbin.

He commented that the weather this year is warmer than usual. Normally, the daytime temperature in Harbin in late December is around minus 20 degrees Celsius. This year, it was only recorded at midnight.

Hoang Vu said that every December, he and a group of eight colleagues, who are fishermen, temporarily put aside fishing and switch to ice chiseling when the Songhua River freezes.

Ice carvers like Hoang Vu often wear life jackets and knee-high boots, standing in lines on the snow-covered river surface, waiting for a team member's command to simultaneously carve blocks of ice exactly 1.6 meters long.

Each block of ice cut to the right size is paid 2 yuan (about 700 VND). Hoang Vu's group can mine up to 2,700 blocks of ice in 16 hours and divide the income equally.

The thinner ice on the Songhua River has affected the workers' income. "The thicker the ice, the more money we make," said Huang.

Ice blocks after harvesting from the Songhua River

The chiseled ice blocks are transported uphill by motor and loaded onto forklifts, and transferred to the festival area about a 5-minute drive from the Songhua River.

The ice sculptures at the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival have become iconic and have made the place a tourist attraction. The giant blocks of ice are carved into structures such as giant palaces, three-colored snowflakes, and simulations of the Terracotta Army of the Qin Dynasty. The structures are equipped with colored lights and lit up at night.

Mr. Chu, a Harbin resident, said that although the ice-chiseling job is hard and involves harsh weather, it is still better than sitting at home with no income in winter.

"There's not much work to do in Harbin during the freezing season. Thanks to this job, I earn about 260 yuan (about 900,000 VND) per 8-hour shift," said Mr. Chu.

HQ (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/mua-dong-it-bang-o-cap-nhi-tan-401609.html