Video: Harbin Ice and Snow World 2013 welcomes first visitors Despite freezing temperatures, visitors flocked to the trial opening of Harbin Ice and Snow World, the best-known winter theme park in China. The park covers nearly 600,000 square metres and is the mainstay of Harbin's month long Ice and Snow Festival, now in its 29th year. The wintry theme park draws crowds from across China as well as from overseas each year with its unique sculptures, which are illuminated with multicoloured electric lights encased in translucent ice. "The park is putting on an even grander show than past years," said Qian Yuzhao, a tourist. Apart from the landscape, there are also more ice slides. They've incorporated interactive activities into this year's exhibition, which is really great. For this year's event, artists created over 2,000 ice and snow sculptures within two weeks, including a 48-metre-tall "Crystal Castle." This year, we've added new features like S-shaped sleds and a challenging zip-line. We've also prepared a mini-train for children in the woods. Everyone will be able to find an activity they like," said Wang Zengjue, manager of the theme park. After its official opening on January 5, the park will charge an entrance fee of 150 yuan (£15) during the daytime and 300 yuan (£30) after dark. Harbin, China's northern most provincial capital city widely known as an "Ice City," is directly affected by cold winter winds from Siberia. The city's temperatures in January averages 18 degrees Celsius below zero.