Sun Island Scenic Area
Sun Island Scenic Area was founded in 1964. The name of the Sun Island comes from a northern dialect called Manchu Language. The fishermen of Man ethnic call a kind of fish "Tai Yi An" from the Songhua River; As handing down, the name turned into “Tai Yang”, the pronunciation of “Tai Yang” sounds like “the sun” in Chinese, so now we call it the Sun Island.
Surrounded by blue water, boasts crystal lakes, wooden rockeries, beautiful flowers and exotic buildings, the dainty Sun Island of Harbin is located to the north of the Songhua River main waterway with amazing scenery. In the early eighties, the song, the Beautiful Sun Island, was sung by famous singer, displayed the taste of the Sun Island Park. From then on, Sun Island Scenic Area became famous both home and abroad. As an important venue for Harbin Ice Festival every year, it has become a must-visit sight for for those traveling in Harbin.
In 2025, Sun Island have expanded its open areas to include the Bund Wetlands, while simultaneously launching a free shuttle service connecting the Ice and Snow World to the Sun Island. On August 23, 2025, the Sun Island Giant Panda Pavilion, equipped with professional conservation facilities, officially opened its doors, welcoming the arrival of “Cheese” and “Sesame,” giant pandas from Chengdu.
Harbin Sun Island Park Facts
Topography
Sun Island comprises three sections: East, Central, and West. It is a floodplain. Due to prolonged periods of low water levels, it is often covered by large areas of wetland grassland, exhibiting landform types such as floodplains, marshes, gentle slopes, hills, and inter-hill depressions. It is the only urban floodplain wetland landscape in China and a rare sight in the world.
Winter Event - The International Snow Sculpture Art Expo at Sun Island Park
In winter when the Harbin ice and Snow Festival is celebrated, Sun Island Scenic Area becomes a paradise for recreational ice-snow activities and ice-snow travel. Every year, the Harbin International Snow Sculpture Art Expo is held here, exhibiting enthralling ice or snow sculptures and architectures, attracting thousands of visitors who are on their exciting Harbin Ice Festival tour.
The Art Expo makes every effort to take advantage of the beautiful garden landscape of Sun Island, ingeniously merge snow, snow scene and together, creating a natural & particular snow realm. During the Expo, visitors can experience amount of grand and vivid snow sculptures closely in different zones; they are made by carving masters but sometimes undergraduates; if you want to have a much real experience, create one yourself is available. Other than watching the sculptures of theme park, visitors can also do some snow play activities, such as Ice slide, ice-rink, bumper car, etc.
The Sun Island Snow Sculpture Art Expo is making a major push for multiple Guinness World Records with its spectacular ice and snow creations.
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Top Attractions
Sun Gate
Sun Gate, the main entrance to Sun Island, stands at the head of Jinshui Bridge. With a total width of 68 meters, the central entrance stands 12.03 meters tall. The undulating curves flanking the gate resemble white waves rising from the Songhua River, cradling the ascending sun. Four sculptures stand within the smaller arches on either side, their bases featuring a simulated map of Harbin's city streets.
Sun Stone
In 2003, the “Sun Stone” was erected within the giant arch structure of the Sun Island scenic area. Resembling a mango, it measures 7.5 meters in length and weighs 150 tons. Inscribed with the characters “Sun Island,” the inscription was created by Mr. Zhao Puchu in 1984 for the masthead of the Sun Island Literary Supplement of the Harbin Daily.
Seated Dragon Plaza
At the plaza's center stands a 6-meter-tall, 60-square-meter three-dimensional flower bed shaped like a seated dragon. Its prototype is the Jin Dynasty “Bronze Seated Dragon”—a symbol of Heilongjiang Province's cultural heritage and tourism.
Northern Folk Art Gallery
This three-story building houses over 2,000 unique artistic masterpieces.
Yu Qingcheng Sculpture Garden
Features eight groups comprising nearly 20 sculptures, all classic works by Mr. Yu Qingcheng.
Bear Paradise
Located within the ecological forest area of Sun Island Scenic Area, this park integrates sightseeing, leisure, recreational experiences, and dining services.
The Sun Island Ice and Snow Art Museum
Located in the Sun Island Snow Expo Scenic Area of Harbin, it is unaffected by outdoor temperatures, allowing you to enjoy ice and snow art year-round. Spanning nearly 5,000 square meters, it houses over 100 ice and snow sculptures, all made from natural ice from the Songhua River, artificial snow, and artificial colored ice. Ice and snow artisans skillfully utilize various advanced techniques, complemented by lighting and stage lighting art, to create a magical ice and snow fairytale world within the museum.
The Sun Island Ice and Snow Art Museum follows a storyline featuring the island's mascots, Little Bear and Desse Mouse, titled “Bear's World Tour: Challenging the Extreme Cold.” The main pathway spans 200 meters, with the entire viewing route stretching 800 meters. Six snow machines are installed inside, producing 3 cubic meters of artificial snow daily when activated. Unlike snow cannons, which spray fine snow particles through high-pressure nozzles, snow machines produce flake-shaped snow.
The pavilion features nine themed zones: Arctic Landscapes, European Culture, International Music Culture, Antarctic Ice Peaks, Underwater World, Everest Base Camp, Elite Ice Sculpture Competition, Entertainment Activities, and Blessing Area.
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Russian-Style Town
The town features 18 provincial-level cultural heritage buildings from Heilongjiang, showcasing diverse architectural styles spanning the 15th to 19th centuries, including Renaissance, Baroque, Eclectic, and Art Nouveau.
Giant Panda Pavilion
The Sun Island Giant Panda Pavilion integrates conservation, research, and education. It provides habitats tailored to the natural behaviors of giant pandas and will establish sustainable conservation and operational mechanisms. It make another place to visit if you want to extend your China panda tours to Harbn.
What to See in Other Seasons
Spring scenery at Sun Island Scenic Area is colorful; there are more than twenty scenic spots. Many of them are must-see scenery spot, which can be divided into three parts. Animals' World is located in the north and west. The Deer Garden, the Swan Lake and the Squirrel Island consist of the zone of the animal's world.
In the Flower Garden, you can see twelve breeds of cloves in the Clove Garden blossom from May to July, driving birds to sing for them. The center of the garden is featured by flowers, lakes and ice-snow beauty. Ice and snow series, exotic Russian series, a gallery and a memorial garden can be found in the south.
In the Cloud-water Gloriette, visitors get a whole view of the lake and the Sun Hill while breeze gently brushes their faces. Dining in the Russian restaurant, strolling on the Russian style streets and buying some craftworks are unexpected surprise for visitors in Exotic Russian series.
In summer, the comfortable weather of Harbin makes it the first choice to avoid summer heat. Its circular belt of white sand beaches, blue water and abundant sunlight make it an exquisite sun-bathing area. Boating in the lake, enjoy a leisure time here. Fresh flowers and colorful grass sculptures are found flanking the roads.
What to Eat
The "Sun Island Style Street" in the central area offers a variety of traditional Harbin food, including electric grilled skewers, grilled squid, grilled cold noodles, fried yogurt, cold skin noodles, jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes), stinky tofu, mala tang (spicy hot pot), and fruit salad.
How to Get to Sun Island Harbin?
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