When: 5th Jan 2018 - 23rd Feb 2018 Where: Harbin, China
Think 'City of Ice' and you think of Harbin, premier city of the Heilongjiang province, China. Its winters last six months, sub zero temperatures are routine, its river freezes rock solid and its parklands are transformed into snowscapes.
But come January-February and Harbin metamorphoses into an enchanted city made up of translucent sculptures carved out of ice. Gigantic blocks of ice from the Songhua River are chipped, chiselled and carved into palaces and pagodas, dragons and dinosaurs, ships and spacecrafts, familiar landmarks and famous figures.
Harbin's ingenious residents hollowed out blocks of ice to use as lanterns, inadvertently starting a tradition that grew into an art form. In the past 25 years, the Harbin Ice Lantern Festival has become an annual cultural event with many international teams participating.
Their ice creations dazzle and impress in their sheer scale and intricacy in bright daylight but present an even more breathtaking sight at night. Neon lights strung in and around the sculptures turn Zhaolin Park into a surreal crystalline fairyland.
