Ice Sculpture Exhibition

The Ice Sculpture Exhibition is dubbed "The Coolest August Festival" and they mean it literally - the temperature inside is -8 degrees Celcius. That's minus eight degrees below zero to prevent the ice sculptures made by the ice carvers from Harbin, China from melting.

The ice festival feature amazing works carved out of gigantic blocks of ice and is housed inside a temperature controlled room. I managed to get a half priced ticket (RM 10) by using my old uni student ID card. ;) The normal admission price for adults is RM 20.

That's inclusive of a free sweater, and an unlimited time inside. The coats are handed out before you enter the freezing enclosure.

The first thing that greets you (besides the blast of freezing air) is this huge cat made completely out of ice. I was amazed by the size and finesse that must have gone into this piece of work. It's based on the Kuching cat, one paw raised in greeting.

This is a nativity scene showing the birth of Jesus Christ (bananas). Look at the intricate design of the hay in the manger interpretation. The cot itself has a lot of carved patterns on it. It's amazing!

The Eiffel Tower of Paris is also featured in the ice sculpture exhibition. The scale of it is amazing, it towers above people.

Here's another massive ice sculpture to show you the scale of the interior. This is me standing in front of the Beijing Ceremonial Arch. The entire interior is made out of ice!

This is another design I like - it's a piece of work called Phoenix Facing The Sun.

Turtle: OMG, the world has frozen around me and I can't get up!

Here's a mini tour of the ice sculpture exhibition, a longer video will be available at the end of the post:

Download: Ice Exhibition Interior [sixthseal.com]

This is another marvelous piece of art - the An Pergola. I give this Best of Show. The design is impeccable.

Lest we get tired, there is ice chairs located inside for people to rest their weary legs. The entire bench is made out of huge blocks of ice.

The side of the interior is decorated with barren winter trees and small piles of ice. It really contributes to the ambience of the ice sculpture fest.

This is a long display of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. I have a movie featuring the ice sculpted animals here:

Download: Ice 12 Chineze Zodiac [sixthseal.com]

I was born in 1981, so that makes me a Rooster.

There is also an ice maze made out of blocks of ice in the middle of the exhibition. It's wonderful, the variety of interactive sculptures available inside.

Speaking of interactive sculptures, this is the ice palace, with steps leading up to a balcony which overlooks the entire exhibition...

...and an ice slide down to the bottom! :)

I went down the ice slide twice - they charge a nominal fee of RM 1 per slide, and you get a mat so your pants won't get wet and make your underwear all soggy and all that.

There is also an intricate ice sculpture of a longhouse - possibly the most complicated sculpture inside.

Look at the detail the ice carvers put into this one - it has a proper structure, with rooms!

It's very detailed - steps going up into the longhouse and windows on each room.

Here's another complicated ice sculpture - A Slideway Russian Style Building.

It also features a mini ice slide, this one is free, but the slide is too short for most adults. I would recommend giving the long curving slide a go instead.

This is the Liuhe Pagoda - a massive structure that competes with the Eiffel Tower in size. I liked this one more, the lighting is better.

Here's a video tour of the ice sculpture festival:

Download: Ice Sculpture Exhibition Tour [sixthseal.com]

I would highly (no pun intended) recommend a visit to the Ice Sculpture Exhibition if you're in Kuching. It ends on the 15th of August and it's located at the MBKS grounds. I'll rate it as a must visit - you won't be disappointed, it's beautiful in there!