Gallery: Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival 2019
- Published
The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival takes place every single year in the city of Harbin in the north-east of China.
It's the largest festival of its kind in the whole world and attracts millions of visitors from around the world every year since it first started in 1983.
The ice festival, which kicked off with a spectacular firework display on its opening day, features ice sculptures and work from artists from 16 countries all over the world, including Russia, Canada, Spain and the UK.
Over 30 teams of artists coming together to create the pieces, which have all originated from a solid block of ice pulled from the nearby Songhua river.
At night, the sculptures light up in the most amazing colours. A British artist called Lydia Smith: "I've never been to China before or Harbin. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. It's so beautiful. The craftsmanship of all the pieces are amazing. There's so many talented artists here."
A 28-year-old tourist from Taiwan, Lin, said: "The light here is extremely beautiful and the ice sculptures are amazing."
There are other attractions on top of the sculptures too, including sled rides on the Songhua river and 2019 snowmen on display. Want to send a postcard from Harbin? No problem! The festival features an ice and snow post office.
This year, visitors can even visit a hotpot restaurant that is built out of ice. Harbin is one of China's coldest cities, where temperatures can drop as low as 35 degrees Celsius below zero, so a warm pot of stew is probably just what's needed!
A record-breaking 47 Chinese couples also braved the freezing cold temperatures this year to take part in a mass wedding ceremony at the festival in amazing ice wedding castle. A 27-year-old groom who took part in the ceremony said: "I think that our love for each other is like ice and snow - pure, white and beautiful."
While it is a popular visitor attraction, the festival is actually a competition, with prizes for the sculptures announced at the end of the three-day event. Well, we certainly all of the pieces look absolutely absolutely brrrrrrrrrrr...illiant. (Sorry...)
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