MANILA, Philippines – An ice sculpture featuring the Philippines’ iconic San Agustin Church is on display and is one of the popular attractions during the International Ice and Snow Festival being held in Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang, China’s northernmost province.
According to the Philippine Embassy in Beijing, the baroque church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is among the landmarks carved in ice and snow on display in the sprawling Harbin Ice and Snow Park.
Among other landmarks from other ASEAN countries are Singapore’s Merlion, Cambodia’s Bayon Temple, Brunei’s Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien, Myanmar’s Shwedagon Pagoda, Indonesia’s Borubudor, Thailand’s Grand Temple, Lao PDR’s Pha That Luang, Malaysia’s Petronas Twin Towers, and Vietnam’s Khue Van Pavillon.
Philippine Ambassador Jaime A. FlorCruz visited Harbin, together with other ASEAN Ambassadors to China, and recently toured the Ice and Snow Festival as part of the familiarization trip organized by the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), the Philippine Embassy stated.
“This helps introduce ASEAN countries like ours to the curious Chinese audiences – and it’s a massive number – considering the festival’s ability to draw a large crowd,” Ambassador FlorCruz said.
The Festival kicked off at the end of December last year and will run until February; and has already attracted more than one million visitors 20 days after its opening.
Vice Governor Yu Jian of Heilongjiang Provincial Government received the ASEAN Ambassadors and said that despite the distance, Heilongjiang and ASEAN countries are highly complementary in the areas of trade and economic development, science and technology, culture and education, and tourism.
Photo shows Amba FlorCruz along with other ASEAN officials, explored Harbin’s 2025 Ice festival which featured an ice sculpture of PH’s San Agustin Church. (Photo and caption courtesy of Philippine Embassy in Beijing)
“The Ambassadors also had the opportunity to visit various industries in Heilongjiang Province such as food processing and production, sales and service of intelligent manufacturing equipment and industrial robots, and aerospace technology,” the Philippine Embassy mentioned.
With these visits, the ACC hopes that these industries can further promote cooperation, exchanges and work with ASEAN countries in the future, the Embassy stated.
