How to Visit Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival

Plan your Beijing winter tour? Don’t miss an excursion to Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival. Basically each year it will be open around Jan 05. In some occasions, it will be delayed for a few days. But if even it is delayed, you still can go there to have a glimpse of the ice festival site which is under preparation, still a fun. Have a good time in Beijing!

This famous ice and snow festival boasts the three intriguing items – Ice Lanterns, Ice Carving and Snow Sculptures. If you are not going to have a Harbin tour for an amazing ice and snow festival in Harbin, Beijing Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival is a perfect substitute.

The venue for Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival is the narrow valley in the Longqing Gorge Scenic Area ( also called Longqingxia Scenic Area). Here “xia” literally means “gorge”. The Longqing Gorge Scenic Area is 15km in the northeast of Yanqing County, about 98km from Beijing city center.

The Longqing Gorge ( or Longqingxia ) is a famous summer resort, a 7-km long ravine passed by the Gucheng River, which is dubbed as “Little Li River”, or “Little Three Gorges of Yangtze River”. But if you come here in winter, you can  see ice lanterns, ice and snow sculptures during the ice festival period.

Each year Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival has a different theme for the ice  and lantern activity.  You can also visit the ice lantern festival in the daytime. Of course, the best time to view the ice lanterns is in the evening lasting from 5pm to 10pm.

The venue for Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival is adjacent to several winter attractions such as Badaling Great Wall, Shijinglong Ski Resort and Badaling Ski Resort. You can combine two or three sights in a one-day Beijing excursion.

Venue

Longqing Gorge Scenic Area ( also known as Longqingxia Scenic Area) in the north of Gucun Village, Jiuxian Town, Yanqing County, Beijing  延庆县旧县镇古城村北龙庆峡景区 Festival Time: Jan 10 – Feb

Opening Hours: 9:00 am – 10:00 pm

Entry Tickets: RMB 100; RMB 50 (students); Free for travelers under 12 years

Enquiry: 69191020

How to get there

Bus: take Bus 919 from Deshengmen Bus Terminal and get off at Yanqing County and change for Bus 920 for Longqing Gorge  S Train: take S train to Yanqing County.

Self-drive: Drive along Badaling Expressway (Jingzang Expressway) and eixt from Exit 62, pass by Yanqing County, drive along National Highway.

Organised Longqing Gorge Ice Festival Day Tour:

1) Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival & Badaling Great Wall Day Tour
2) Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival Night Tour

Add-on

Top 10 Ski Resorts in Beijing
Top 10 Ice Rinks in Beijing
Houhai Winter Ice Skating Rink
How to Visit Great Wall of China in Winter
Top Things to Do in Beijing in the Winter
How to Visit Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival
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Longtan Lake Park Temple Fair

Tip:  Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours

If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours,  here are some options for guided tours to Beijing:

Beijing Winter Tour
Beijing 5 Day Winter Tour Package
Car Rental in Beijing
Beijing Day Tour
Beijing Tour Packages
Great Wall Tour
China City Tours
China Tour

Further Readings

Best Time to Visit Beijing
How to plan a trip to Beijing

Top 10 Attractions in Beijing
Top 10 Tourist Scams Beijing
How to Visit Forbidden City
How to Visit Temple of Heaven
How to Visit Summer Palace
How to Visit Ming Tombs
How to Visit the Great Wall of China
How to Visit Tiananmen Square
How to Visit Hutongs
How to Visit Olympic Sites

Top 10 Markets in Beijing
Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing
Beijing Shopping

Wangfujing Night Snack Street
Qianmen Commercial Street
Beijing Huguosi Street

Any questions, just drop a line.