# buildwith · Harbin International Snow Sculpture Competition (Ice & Snow Festival): sources

Row #6 of `experiences_v1.csv` (research pass 3 Oct 2026, IST). Dates and deadlines come from `cal.py` (date check 4 Oct 2026, IST), which is the source of truth for dates, with the 4 Oct 2026 source-rule audit applied. The page deliberately shows **no prices** and no contact emails; see the official site.

| Fact used | Source |
|---|---|
| Name, place (Harbin (Sun Island), Heilongjiang, China), continent | https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202501/08/content_WS677dc80cc6d0868f4e8ee96d.html (primary) ·  (secondary) |
| Usual timing: January (2025 competition held in early January) | https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202501/08/content_WS677dc80cc6d0868f4e8ee96d.html (primary) ·  (secondary) |
| What you build / use: BUILD a large snow sculpture as a team | https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202501/08/content_WS677dc80cc6d0868f4e8ee96d.html (primary) ·  (secondary) |
| How a traveller takes part: Enter as a team of qualified snow sculptors (entry rules: Unconfirmed: no official source); everyone else visits Sun Island | https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202501/08/content_WS677dc80cc6d0868f4e8ee96d.html (primary) ·  (secondary) |
| Participation level: Build-compete (qualified teams) / spectator | https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202501/08/content_WS677dc80cc6d0868f4e8ee96d.html (primary) ·  (secondary) |
| Entry requirements / deadline: Entry rules, team size and deadline: Unconfirmed: no official source | https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202501/08/content_WS677dc80cc6d0868f4e8ee96d.html (primary) ·  (secondary) |
| Verification note (research pass): Source audit 4 Oct 2026: travel-agency and news-agency links removed. Competition confirmed on the State Council portal (2025 edition). Entry rules unconfirmed. | experiences_v1.csv |
| Date: Jan 2027 · date TBC: Harbin Intl Snow Sculpture Competition 2027 (early January, dates TBC). Held in early January at Sun Island (2025: 27th edition, State Council portal). 2027 dates TBC. | https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202501/08/content_WS677dc80cc6d0868f4e8ee96d.html |
| Take-part route "Enter a snow-sculpture team (qualified sculptors)" (Team entry): Teams of snow sculptors compete at Sun Island each January (2025: 27th edition, more than 20 teams from 10 countries, per the State Council portal). Entry rules, team size and deadline: Unconfirmed: no official source. | Re-worded from the CSV row and the dated items above |
| Take-part route "Visit Sun Island and Ice & Snow World" (Watch & buy local): Everyone else visits the finished snow sculptures during the Ice & Snow Festival. | Re-worded from the CSV row and the dated items above |
| Check note: Entry rules, team size and the application deadline: Unconfirmed: no official source. The only page we had was a travel agency's, so we removed it. | CSV verification notes / dated items above |
| Check note: 2027 festival opening and competition dates are TBC. | CSV verification notes / dated items above |

## Skills you'll need (section 03)

| Fact used | Source |
|---|---|
| Skills (this experience): Snow carving: blocking out a form from a packed snow block using hand tools; Team planning: scale model (maquette), cut plan and division of work; Working safely for long hours in extreme cold | Skills research, checked 2026-10-04 (IST) |
| Difficulty (our estimate): Skilled team (qualified sculptors only); prep time (our estimate): several months of team design and carving practice. Difficulty and prep time are Curiosta editorial estimates for a first-timer, not organiser figures. | Curiosta editorial estimate |
| Refresher, practice and safety steps: Start with a small scale model (in clay or plasticine) of your design and work out how it fits the block from every side. / Mark key points on the block, then remove big masses first, working from the top down so debris falls away from finished areas. / Design for snow: avoid thin, unsupported parts; keep weight over a solid base; snow is strong in compression, weak in overhangs. / Use hand tools (saws, shovels, chisels, rasps, scrapers); peer competitions such as Breckenridge allow hand tools only and ban power tools. / Refine and add texture last; spray or smooth only as the rules allow. / Cold safety: dress in layers, protect hands and feet, take warm breaks, drink water, and use scaffolds and ladders carefully on icy footing. / Carve a design into a block of packed sand, soap or floral foam at home to rehearse removing masses top-down. / Build a small snow or crushed-ice test piece if you can reach a snowfield (e.g. Gulmarg or Himachal in winter). / Make the maquette and a cut plan with your team long before the trip. / Frostbite and hypothermia risk: layers, insulated gloves, regular warm breaks. / Icy scaffolds and ladders: three points of contact, secure footing. / Saws and chisels: keep blades guarded when not in use. | Our summary of the resources below |
| Resource (Official; publisher: The State Council of the People's Republic of China (english.www.gov.cn)): 27th Harbin int'l snow sculpture competition: Confirms the competition format and international teams on Sun Island (context, not rules). | https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202501/08/content_WS677dc80cc6d0868f4e8ee96d.html |
| Resource (Official; publisher: Breckenridge Tourism Office (GoBreck)): International Snow Sculpture Championships – Breckenridge: Shows how a major snow-sculpting contest works: 12-ft blocks, roughly 100 hours, hand tools only. Useful for planning, but these are not Harbin's rules. | https://gobreck.com/event/international-snow-sculpture-championships/ |
| No official resource yet: No official resource yet for the competition's entry rules or for snow-carving technique (Unconfirmed: no official source). The Breckenridge page is a different competition, linked for context only. | Skills research (gap recorded) |

See also: skills guide `skills/sculpting-sand-snow-clay/`

## Source audit (4 Oct 2026, IST)

Official sources first; non-official sources only if the event community widely accepts them, with evidence. Links removed or replaced on this page (old links are shown as plain text, not linked):

- Old: `harbinice.com/fact-v21-harbin-international-snow-sculpture-competition.html` → New: https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202501/08/content_WS677dc80cc6d0868f4e8ee96d.html. Why: Travel agency. Replaced by the State Council portal (2025 competition). Entry rules, team size and the 30 Nov deadline are marked Unconfirmed; the deadline and late-Dec 2027 calendar items are removed.
- Old: `english.news.cn/20260110/… (Xinhua)` → Removed. Why: News agency used as a source for the 2026 run. Removed; the 2025 edition is cited from the State Council portal instead.

## Check notes shown on the page

- Entry rules, team size and the application deadline: Unconfirmed: no official source. The only page we had was a travel agency's, so we removed it.
- 2027 festival opening and competition dates are TBC.

## Our grouping

- Levels shown: Team entry, Watch & buy local (our grouping of the CSV participation level "Build-compete (qualified teams) / spectator").
- Usual months used by the month filter: Dec, Jan.