每年冬天处在中国东北的哈尔滨举行冰雪节。哈尔滨国际冰雪节是世界上最有名的冰雪节，每年吸引无数的中外游客。冰雪节最吸引人的胜地是冰雪大世界。在那里，游客可以欣赏被彩灯照明的壮观冰雕。我的英国学长学姐和中国朋友都告诉我参观冰雪节真是个很难忘的体验，所以我决定跟同学一起去哈尔滨过生日。
Every winter, Harbin in North East China hosts the Ice Festival. Harbin Ice Festival is the world’s biggest ice festival which attracts countless visitors from China and abroad every year. The spot that attracts the most people is Harbin Ice and Snow World. Tourists can admire magnificent ice sculptures illuminated with multicolored lights there. My seniors in the UK and Chinese friends had all said visiting the Ice Festival is an unforgettable experience, so I decided to go to Harbin to celebrate my birthday with my classmates.
当我们到哈尔滨时，天气非常恶劣– 天昏地暗，寒风凛冽，气温零下二十摄氏度。幸运的是，我们是有备而来的。离开北京前，我买了一堆新衣服（两双手套，一顶巴拉克拉法帽，保暖衣服等等）来做到有备无患。我穿着一层又一层的衣服，可是还觉得很冷。
When we arrived in Harbin, the weather was terrible. The sky was black and the wind was piercing. It was -20 degrees Celsius. Luckily, we came prepared. Before leaving Beijing, I had bought a mountain of me clothes (2 pairs of gloves, a balaclava, thermals etc) as it’s better to be safe than sorry. I was wearing layer upon layer of clothes, but still felt very cold.
第二天，我们去了举行追冰雕比赛的公园。有各种各样的冰雕，从一个真正温度表和华丽的宫殿，到粉红猪小妹的汽车和一个和巨大的埃及狮身人面像。坦白地说，我最喜欢的是一个滑梯，因为我们可以用平底雪橇从滑梯上滑下去！在每个冰雕前面挂着标牌，在标牌上写着一些信息，比如冰雕是由谁追的，雕刻家追冰雕的用意是什么。让我最吃惊的是很多是由大学生追的。我但愿我有这样的才能! 很多冰雕有象征性的意思，比如美术工作者的爱国激情或者留学生对有在中国学习的机会的感激。
The next day, we went to the park which hosted the ice sculpture competition. There were all sorts of sculptures, from a real thermometer and magnificent palaces to Peppa Pig’s car and an enormous Sphinx. To be honest, my favorite was a slide, because we could slide down it on a toboggan! In front of every statue there hung a sign with some information written on it, for example who made the statue or the sculptor’s intentions for making the statue. The thing that surprised me most was that lots were made by university students. I wish I had that sort of talent! Lots of ice sculptures had symbolic meaning, for example the artist’s patriotic fervor or international students’ gratitude to have the opportunity to study in China.
那一天晚上，我们打车去冰雪大世界。我们的司机是初来乍到哈尔滨的黑龙江北部土生土长的人。当他问我们哈尔滨给我们留下什么印象时，我们说我们很喜欢，可是受不了天气。他显然觉得我们在小题大做。在他看来，那时候手套和帽子是可有可无的。他告诉我们当时的天气不算是很冷，哈尔滨最冷的时候气温会低于零下三十摄氏度。另外，在他家乡，最冷的气温大概零下五十度。对他来说，那真算是很冷的。
That evening, we went to the Ice and Snow World. Our driver was new to Harbin but was born and bred in the Northern part of Heilongjiang (China’s most northerly province where Harbin is located). When he asked us what our impression of Harbin was, we said we really liked it, but we couldn’t stand the weather. He obviously thought we were making a mountain out of a molehill. In his opinion, you could do without both gloves and hats. He said that the weather then didn’t count as cold, and that in Harbin the temperature could be lower than -30. In addition, in his home town at its coldest it was about -50. That, in his opinion, counted as cold.
冰雪大世界完全完全出乎了我的预料。绝大多数的冰雕比我的房屋大。有宏伟的城堡和崔嵬的塔楼，高雅的佛像和热闹的冰酒吧。在这个与众不同的酒吧里，建筑，柜台，甚至椅子都是由坚冰做成的。我们在那里过了一段时间一边聊聊天，一边喝哈啤。酒保告诉我们他需要把啤酒藏在特殊的暖盒子里，免得啤酒冻结。
Ice and Snow World completely exceeded my expectations. The vast majority of the sculptures were bigger than my house! There were great castles and imposing towers, elegant Buddhas and lively ice bars. In this unusual bar, the building, the bar counter and even the seats were all made of solid ice. We spent a while there, chatting and drinking Harbin beer. The bartender told us he had to keep the beer in a special warm box to stop it freezing!
我永远不会忘记去哈尔滨冰雪节的体验。如果有机会的话，我敦促任何人去参观全世界数一数二的冰雪节。不过，如果你打算去哈尔滨，该小心一点。哈尔滨比几乎任何欧洲城市冷得多，穿很厚的衣服，戴手套和帽子都是至关重要的!
I will never forget the experience of going to Harbin Ice Festival. I would encourage anyone to go to what is one of the best, if not the best, Ice Festival in the world if they get a chance.
However, if you do go to Harbin, you need to be careful. Harbin is a lot colder than almost any city in Europe so wearing thick clothes and gloves and hat is a must!