For nearly 3 decades, hundreds of thousands of people have flocked to the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in northeast China to witness dazzling works of ice architecture that stretch up to the sky and light up at night. Talented artisans use swing saws to carve giant chunks of ice from the frozen Songhua River and mold them into jaw-dropping life-size sculptures. The festival officially starts each year on January 5th (when temperatures can dip as low as minus 36 degrees fahrenheit!), but if the weather cools off earlier, it's possible that these temporary art pieces will pop up sooner. Read on to see pictures of the amazing ice sculptures from last year's festival, which were scattered throughout the city!
Now that beats the ice sculptures I used to see on deck on P&O ships when I worked there! Amazing structures. Really would fantastic to see them in reality.