Baby, it’s cold inside
Explore a winter wonderland without leaving the country at iCity’s SnoWalk.
THE month of December is usually associated with cold weather and snow, even in tropical Malaysia, where the end of the year commonly brings heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Though we can never experience a natural winter wonderland in Malaysia, there is a new park that can offer the next best thing. SnoWalk in iCity, Shah Alam, Selangor, features falling snow, ice sculptures, ice rides and everything else you’ll need to have a fun and frosty winter experience.
The park first opened in 2011 but a few months back it underwent major renovation and revamp work – it is now over 4,500sq m, about twice its original size.
“We’ve always wanted to have an attraction which incorporates technology and allows guests to experience something different. So what you’ll be able to see now is a brand new experience. We’ve melted everything in the old SnoWalk. We’ve added a new theme, cartoons, and things like a real snowfall experience,” i-Berhad information manager Tang Soke Cheng said.
“It’s a great place to bring your family and experience winter in Malaysia. The park has always been a family favourite. Sometimes, especially during a hot day in Kuala Lumpur, you just want to escape to somewhere cold.”
SnoWalk is located in the heart of i-City, and can accommodate up to 1,000 people. Explorers are required to suit up before going in as it does get really cold. Jackets and boots are provided with the entry fee, but you can buy extra items like gloves and socks as temperatures can reach -8°C.
SnoWalk features lots of ice sculptures, some of which are of fictional characters like Thomas The Tank Engine and the guys from the Ice Age movies. There’s a giant ice birthday cake and a small ice maze for children, too. Apart from that, there are also thrones of ice to sit on!
Almost 10,000 tons of ice were used to create everything in the park. All the sculptures were made by 30 ice sculptors from Harbin, China. Harbin is known for its Ice and Snow Festival, China’s first and most prominent celebration of ice artwork.
“These sculptors are renowned for their skills and creativity (with making ice sculptures). They’re the best in the world,” Tang said.
In addition to the ice sculptures, SnoWalk has many snow sculptures too, a new feature in the park.
“A lot of us have seen ice sculptures before. But to be able to see snow sculptures, that’s a whole new experience. Imagine how small and refined snow is. So imagine how long it takes to gather enough snow to build a sculpture. For example, to build one of our snowmen, we had to collect snow for two days. Depending on the size of the sculpture we want to build, we have to really plan to decide how much snow we need,” Tang said.
One snow sculpture to look out for is a 6.4m wall featuring the image of Rapunzel and a peony flower. According to Tang, it took their team two weeks to collect the snow and create the carvings on it.
The park also has some activities for children and adults like icy car/toboggan rides and a ski zone.
The newest attraction is the Snow Fall experience. It’s a wide open plain, with a thick blanket of snow on the ground and more snow that falls from the ceiling at regular intervals. It’s very much like being on the inside of a snow globe.
The Snow Fall is a great place for photos, as it has a backdrop of a cosy little village at one end, and statues of cute polar bears on the other. You’re allowed to have a friendly snowball fight with friends here, create snow angels or build a snowman or two, though you would need to bring your own carrot and coal to make its face.
SnoWalk at i-City is open from 11am to midnight, Monday to Friday, and 10am to midnight on weekends and public holidays. Tickets are from RM50. For more information, visit i-city.my/.