Detail of giant colored ice crystals at the festival.
There's an icy winter wonderland in Harbin, the capital of the northernmost—and coldest—province in China.
The city hosts an annual celebration, the International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, where ice sculptors compete to create more and more elaborate buildings of ice, all illuminated in multi-colored lights.
Preparations for the event begin months in advance, with workers digging huge ice blocks from the frozen Songhua River. The massive festival has several themed zones, and the main attraction is the Harbin Ice and Snow World, which covers more than 750,000 square meters and features up to 300,000 cubic meters of ice and snow.
While impressive in daylight, the show really gets going at night, when the large-scale ice structures are illuminated by technicolor LED lighting.
The festival officially opened January 5, and typically runs through late February. Over one million visitors are expected to attend this year.
Fireworks illuminate the night sky marking the opening of the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival to celebrate the new year.
Visitors watch fireworks at the opening ceremony of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in China.
This year the park covers about 800,000 square meters. About 330,000 cubic meters of ice and snow were used to create the sculptures.
The 2017 Harbin Ice and Snow World began trial operations December 21, which has attracted tens of thousands of tourists to take pictures here.
Ice temples illuminated by colored lights at the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival to celebrate the new year in China.
People visit ice sculptures illuminated by colored lights at the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival to celebrate the new year.
Tourists visit ice sculptures illuminated by colored lights during the opening ceremony of the Ice and Snow World as part of the 33rd Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in China.
Workers use saws to dig big ice blocks from the frozen Songhua River in Harbin. The ice blocks are then transported to the festival areas.
Swimmers dive into a pool cut from the frozen riverbank as part of a winter swimming competition during the Harbin Ice and Snow festival.
