Colossal Snowman Captivates Winter Visitors
Harbin, China hosts a snowman as tall as a six-story building.
There is something undeniably inviting about a pristine field of freshly fallen snow. Kids, and even adults, can’t seem to help themselves from using nature as a canvas for footprint impressions, snow angels, and snow sculptures.
For six years now, the city of Harbin in Northeast China has taken inspiration from this playful impulse, transforming its winter bounty into colossal snowmen, reports New Atlas. The city has sculpted a massive snowman every winter since 2019, and this year’s creation is tall enough to tower over all of its surroundings.
The Tallest Snowman in the World
The current tallest snowman in the world is hosted by Harbin. This frosty figure extends 36 feet (10.9 meters) wide and 46 feet (14 meters) long. At a height of 62 feet (18.9 meters), it is as tall as a six-story building.
Constructing the snow giant required a team of 64 sculptors and 100 construction workers. With the help of snow-making machines, it took the team 11 days to build the snowman.
Although this year’s sculpture is impressive, Harbin hosts similarly large winter creations every year. Interesting Engineering reports that the city rebuilds a new giant snowman every year, replacing the one from last year’s winter season that melted away when the weather changed.
The unique sculpture always attracts attention. Last year 100 million tourists trekked to see the snowman in the snowy city. And this year, Harbin livestreamed the construction of the giant installation so fans worldwide could see how the skilled construction team worked together to craft it.
Harbin is also home to the winter-themed park Ice and Snow World, which opened in December 2025. The seasonal theme park contains rides, ice sculptures, and other attractions.
Snow as an Art Medium
While Harbin’s gigantic snowman feels like a modern spectacle, the impulse to roll, stack, and shape snow is anything but new. Science Focus cites the earliest known snowman reference in human history — a Dutch prayer book printed in 1380. This centuries old manuscript depicts a somber snowman melting by a fire.
Acclaimed sculptor Michelangelo was also once commissioned by a client to build a snowman in 1494. And, the largest reported snowman in human history was constructed by residents of Bethel, Maine in 2008. Bethel’s wintry creation, named Olympia, towered at an impressive 122 feet (37 meters) tall.
From medieval manuscripts to modern megastructures, people seem to have a fascination with molding memorable but meltable snowmen. Across centuries and cultures, these fleeting figures have turned ordinary snowfall into moments of creativity and shared wonder.
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