Winter wonderland: China's ice city

An ephemeral beauty draws visitors to Harbin in northern China, where they marvel at fairy-tale ice sculptures at the city's Snow and Ice Festival. The popular event has boosted tourism in the region.

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People on ladders are seen working on a giant snow sculpture depicting a person's face

Frozen fairytale

A large, colourful and frosty display, the Ice and Snow World is an annual festival in Harbin. Some sculptures are modeled on famous buildings, others are reminiscent of European-style fairytale castles ― and some are several stories high. The festival has been taking place since 1999.

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An ice building with several towers is illuminated by colorful lights at night.

Icy art

In addition to ice buildings, there are graceful snow figures to marvel at. Artists from twelve countries are taking part in the international snow sculpture competition as part of the festival.

Image: Wang Song/dpa/Xinhua News Agency/picture alliance

A man works on a larger-than-life snow figure showing a woman with an object in her hand.

Dress warmly for this slide

Big fun not just for the little ones: Several ice slides at Snow and Ice World provide entertainment. The ice artists need not fear that the sculptures will melt in the partly sunny weather: At the opening of the festival,temperatures in the city up in the very north of China showed temperatures as low as -25 degrees Celsius (-13 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day.

Image: PEDRO PARDO/AFP

A child in a red jacket slides down a slide made of ice.

World's largest ice and snow park

At night, the ice sculptures are illuminated by colorful lights. This year, the ice park covers 810,000 square meters (200 acres), on which around 250,000 sculptures can be admired. That got the festival into the Guinness Book of World Records: It was awarded the title of the world's largest ice and snow park.

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The aerial photo shows colorfully illuminated ice sculptures rising into the night sky.

Fancy a quick dip?

The ice for the sculptures is obtained from the nearby Songhua river. Hardcore swimmers like this athlete use holes in the ice to dive into the frozen water.

Image: TINGSHU WANG/REUTERS

A man in swimming trunks and blue rubber slippers is holding himself up on two iron bars in the water of a river that is mostly covered in ice. A swimmer and several people on the ice can be seen in the background.

A busy day in the snow

Numerous snow artists work on their figures. The festival in Harbin has been a popular winter attraction and an important tourist magnet for the capital of China's northernmost province of Heilongjiang for decades.

Image: Zhang Tao/Xinhua News Agency/picture alliance

The aerial photo shows numerous people in red jackets working on snow or ice sculptures.

Iconic setting

A costumed woman poses in front of an ice castle. Photos from the icy cityshared on social media have also boosted tourism this year, reports state news agency Xinhua. More than three million tourists flocked to Harbin around the turn of the year, according to official figures.

Image: TINGSHU WANG/REUTERS