Caption: San Agustin Church, along with other ASEAN landmarks, is featured in Harbin’s ice festival. PH Ambassador Jaime FlorCruz, along with other ASEAN Ambassadors, explores Harbin’s sprawling snow park.
15 January 2025, Harbin, Heilongjiang – An ice sculpture of the Philippines’ iconic San Augustin Church is now one of the popular attractions in this year’s International Ice and Snow Festival which opened in Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang, China’s northernmost province.
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, visiting Harbin with other ASEAN Ambassadors to China, recently toured the Ice and Snow Festival as part of a familiarization trip organized by the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC).
Ambassador FlorCruz said the inclusion of Manila’s San Agustin Church in the annual Ice and Snow Festival is a tribute to the Philippines’ distinctive architectural heritage.
“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,” he said.
The Festival, which started at the end of December, will run until February. It has attracted more than one million visitors just 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.
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.
With these visits, the ACC hopes that these industries can further promote cooperation, exchanges and work with ASEAN countries in the future. (30)
[Amba FlorCruz along with other ASEAN officials, explored Harbin’s 2025 Ice festival which featured an ice sculpture of PH’s San Agustin Church]
