China’s Snow World Festival Opens With Amazing Displays of Ice Architecture

Every year, thousands of curious visitors make their way to China's Jingyuetan National Forest to admire stunning yet fragile figures made from compressed snow. The “Jingyue Snow World Festival”, which opened just a few days ago, is already creating a storm thanks to its wonderful <a title="China's Snow World Festival Unveils Some Cool Ephemeral Architecture " href="http://inhabitat.com/6-incredible-ice-sculptures-that-will-melt-away-when-spring-comes/" target="_blank"> ice sculptures</a>, and this year there are loads of architectural designs in display - from a Disney-style castle to an intricately detailed Russian church.

Jilin Province's annual <a title="China's Snow World Festival Unveils Some Cool Ephemeral Architecture " href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/okamoto-studio-carves-14-ice-sculptures-for-a-grace-ful-installation-in-midtown-manhattan/" target="_blank">ice</a> festival just opened with a flourish of frosty sculptures in all shapes and sizes.

A crystalline ice palace is a fantastic example of what a group of dedicated craftsmen can achieve with simple low-tech tools and materials.

A Russian church painstakingly carved from huge amounts of ice was also on display as part of the annual ice festival.

Even a herd of galloping horses arose from the snow to be part of the chilling event at Jingyuetan National Forest.

It takes a lot of time, patience, and manpower to create these frozen water sculptures.

China's annual ice festival is worth a visit before it melts.