China's spectacular ice festival
The city of Harbin in China’s frigid northeast is hosting one of the world’s largest festivals featuring ice sculptures of animals, cartoon characters and famous landmarks.
The festival, which officially opens late Thursday and last year drew more than a million visitors, showcases the region’s tradition of snow and ice carvings as well as ice swimming in the Songhua River. Harbin’s temperatures can fall to minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit.
In this Jan. 3, 2017, photo, released by Xinhua News Agency, contestants carve an ice sculpture during an international ice sculpture contest during the Harbin Ice and Snow festival in Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
Harbin’s best ice and snow carvers have been busy putting the finishing touches to their sculptures, which are based on big chunks of ice that are dragged out of the nearby river and carved, brushed, and lit up.
In this Jan. 3, 2017, photo, released by Xinhua News Agency, contestants carve ice sculptures during an international ice sculpture contest as part of the Harbin Ice and Snow festival in Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
The sculptures range from animals and cartoon characters to replicas of famous world monuments and landscapes, as well as a 1,115-feet-long slide that state media say took around 500 builders to complete.
In this recent photo, visitors tour a castle-like structures made from blocks of ice at the Harbin International Ice and Snow festival in Harbin, northeastern’s China’s Heilongjiang province.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
A Chinese woman offers a prayer to a Kuanyin snow sculpture at the Harbin International Ice and Snow festival in Harbin, northeastern’s China’s Heilongjiang province, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
Visitors play slide on a castle-like structure made from blocks of ice at the Harbin International Ice and Snow festival in Harbin, northeastern’s China’s Heilongjiang province.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
Visitors tour a castle-like structure made from blocks of ice at the Harbin International Ice and Snow festival in Harbin, northeastern’s China’s Heilongjiang province.
Snow skyline
Artists and workers prepare a snow sculpture for the upcoming festival in Harbin, China, Dec. 17, 2016.
City of snow
Artists and workers prepare a snow sculpture for the upcoming Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in Harbin, China, Dec. 15, 2016.
Ice blocks
Artists and workers prepare an ice sculpture for the upcoming Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China, Dec. 16, 2016.
Giant ice cubes
Workers pull a giant ice cube out of the frozen Songhua River as they extract ice to make sculptures for the upcoming Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in Harbin, China, Dec. 17, 2016.
Construction site
Artists and workers prepare ice and snow sculptures for the upcoming Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in Harbin, China, Dec. 16, 2016.
Snow portrait
Artists prepare a snow sculpture for the upcoming Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in Harbin, China, Dec. 17, 2016.
Snow sculpture
A snow sculpture is seen for the upcoming Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in Harbin, China, Dec. 17, 2016.
Ice sculpture
An artist polishes an ice sculpture for the upcoming Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in Harbin, China, Dec. 19, 2016.
Ice sculpture
A worker prepares an ice sculpture for the upcoming Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in Harbin, China, Dec. 17, 2016.
Snow princess
An elaborate snow sculpture in the works ahead of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in China, Dec. 15, 2016.
Under construction
Artists and workers prepare ice and snow sculptures for the upcoming Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in Harbin, China, Dec. 16, 2016.
Colorful lights
Ice and snow sculptures are illuminated by colorful lights as work continues to prepare for the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in Harbin, China, Dec. 16, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
The 32nd annual Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival began Jan 5, 2016. Over one million visitors were expected to attend the month-long event where buildings of ice are bathed in ethereal lights and international ice sculptors compete for honors.
In this photo, people work on a snow sculpture at the International Snow Sculpture Art Expo in Harbin, China ahead of the opening, Dec. 22, 2015.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
People visit ice sculptures illuminated by colored lights on the opening day of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in the northern city of Harbin, Jan. 5, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
People wait in line at the China Ice and Snow World on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province on Jan. 4, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
Fireworks light up the sky behind ice sculptures during the opening day of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in the northern city of Harbin, Jan. 5, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
Workers polish a snow sculpture in Harbin, Dec. 22, 2015.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
A general view of the opening ceremony of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival at the China Ice and Snow World in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province on Jan. 5, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
People visit ice sculptures illuminated by colored lights on the opening day of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in the northern city of Harbin, Jan. 5, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
A family pull a sleigh before the opening ceremony of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin on Jan. 4, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
A worker polishes an ice sculpture, Jan. 4, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
A girl slides on the ice in Harbin on Jan. 5, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
A horse stands in front of ice sculptures ahead of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, Jan. 4, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
Workers polish an ice sculpture ahead of the Harbin International Ice, Jan. 4, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
A large snow sculpture is seen ahead of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in the northern city of Harbin, Jan. 5, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
A worker polishes an ice sculpture ahead of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in the northern city of Harbin, Jan. 4, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
People visit China Ice and Snow World on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin on Jan. 4, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
A laborer works beside a large snow sculpture ahead of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in the northern city of Harbin, China, Jan. 5, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
Visitors walk up stairs made of ice during the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin on Jan. 5, 2016.
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
People look around a large snow sculpture ahead of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in the northern city of Harbin, Jan. 5, 2016.