TORONTO — Intrepid Travel has added to its popular range of festival-themed trips with the new China’s Harbin Ice Festival experience.

The five-day trip makes the most of China’s chilly winter with a journey to the northeast corner of the country where Harbin’s festivities include the Ice and Snow Festival, a winter wonderland with the biggest and most elaborate ice sculptures in the world.

An enormous seated Buddha, a supersized Chinese fisherman and the Moscow Kremlin were just some of the incredible ice sculptures on display in 2015. Recreations of famous buildings, monuments and characters are lit up in technicolour at the largest festival of its kind in the world.

Beginning in Beijing, travellers take an overnight sleeper train to Harbin, where a walking tour of the city will introduce them to its Russian influence and heritage – Harbin was built to accommodate Russian engineers working on the Trans-Siberian Railroad in the 19th Century. Saint Sofia Cathedral is just one landmark that speaks to this.

A full day and night at the Ice and Snow Festival will be an exploration of life-size ice sculptures, sledding, ice hockey and even ice mini golf. Travellers are advised to dress warmly, as temperatures can get as cold as minus 35°C and with a lot of time spent outdoors packing thermals is a must.

China’s Harbin Ice Festival is from $1,565 per person and departs on Jan. 9 2016. For more information visit intrepidtravel.com/cbsi.

The trip can be combined with Intrepid’s popular nine day China Highlights, which visits Shanghai, the town of Xitang, Xi’an, the Great Wall and Beijing, before heading to Harbin.