Fairy palaces, pagodas and majestic skyscrapers - carved from blocks of ice - that's only part of the exhibits presented at the 28th annual festival of snow and ice in Harbin.
The festival, one of the most significant among such events around the world, officially opened January 5 and lasts for a month. However, artifacts are often open earlier and, weather permitting, stay for a long time. People from all over China and from other countries come to Harbin to admire amazing sculptures made of ice and snow. Talented sculptors adorn their works illumination, which makes them even more unusual species. Ice sculptures are treated as using modern tools such as laser and through more traditional means. Blocks of ice, from which cut sculptures taken from the Songhua River flows nearby
