ICIUM Wonderworld of Ice is a winter entertainment park built in

Levi, Finland Levi is a fell located in Finnish Lapland, and the largest ski resort in Finland. The resort is located in the village of Sirkka, Kittilä municipality and is served by Kittilä Airport and Kolari railway station. At a latitude of 67.8° north, ...

from ice and snow. The first park opened on 18 December 2010. The park showcases both

ice sculpture Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. Sculptures from ice can be abstract or realistic and can be functional or purely decorative. Ice sculptures are generally associated with special or extravagant events because ...

s and

snow sculpture Snow sculpture or snow art is a sculpture form comparable to sand sculpture or ice sculpture in that most of it is now practiced outdoors, and often in full view of spectators, thus giving it kinship to performance art in the eyes of some. The m ...

s in an area of about .

Construction

ICIUM is built by Chinese ice sculptors from

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

city, where the annual

Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival The Harbin International Ice and Snow festival () is an annual winter festival that takes place with a theme in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, and now is the largest ice and snow festival in the world. At first participants in the festival were m ...

has been held since 1963. More than of snow was used in the construction of the first ICIUM in 2010. The builders also lifted over of ice from the

Ounasjoki The Ounasjoki ( se, Ovnnesjohka) is the Kemijoki's largest tributary and is Finland's longest single river tributary. It is also the largest river entirely within its borders. Ounasjoki is approximately in length, and the catchment area is , 27% ...

river to make the sculptures.

Structures in ICIUM

The main attractions in ICIUM season 2010–2011 were: *

Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic grou ...

slide. The biggest snow building, the Great Wall slide was high and long. More than of snow went into its construction. *

Helsinki Cathedral Helsinki Cathedral ( fi, Helsingin tuomiokirkko, ; sv, Helsingfors domkyrka, ) is the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the neighborhood of Kruununhaka in the c ...

. At high, the Helsinki Cathedral, along with the Great Wall slide, was the tallest snow buildings in ICIUM. *

Helsinki Central railway station Helsinki Central Station ( fi, Helsingin päärautatieasema, sv, Helsingfors centralstation) ( HEC) is the main station for commuter rail and long-distance trains departing from Helsinki, Finland. The station is used by approximately 400,000 peo ...

. *

Pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

. The green pagoda was the tallest ice sculpture in ICIUM, at over 15 metres high. *

Temple of Heaven The Temple of Heaven () is a complex of imperial religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperor of China, Emperors of the Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties for ...

. *

Beijing National Stadium The National Stadium (), also known as the Bird's Nest (), is an 80,000-capacity stadium in Beijing. The stadium was jointly designed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron from Basel-based architecture team Herzog & de Meuron, p ...

. *

Terracotta Army The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting the emperor in ...

. Ice sculptures of terracotta soldiers.

Chinese folk artists

Folk artists from Beijing were also in ICIUM to show how to make traditional Chinese folk arts such as straw weaving, snuff bottle painting and dough sculpting.

ICIUM mascot

Mingming, a baby panda from Bamboo Fairyland, is the

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

An Icy Wonderworld - Beijing Review
/ref> of ICIUM. In his first adventure, Mingming tries to save his home from an evil dragon, with the help of Grandpa Reindeer Niila, baby reindeer Nina and

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

References

External links

Official ICIUM web siteVirtual Finland 360° panorama picture

Visit Finland YouTube video
Buildings and structures made of snow or ice Winter festivals Outdoor sculptures in Finland Tourist attractions in Finland Buildings and structures in Lapland (Finland) Tourist attractions in Lapland (Finland) {{finland-stub