The cold temperatures in north and northeast China have created rare natural scenes that have been attracting many tourists and photographers.

Temperatures in the northernmost Chinese city of Mohe, in Heilongjiang Province, have fallen below minus 30 degrees Celsius recently, freezing some lakes. The ice is as thick as nearly half a meter and it is possible to see frozen bubbles in it. 

Meteorologists say the bubbles are caused by methane produced by organic matter in the lakes. The gas is insoluble in water and forms bubbles when in contact with cold air.

Hundreds of kilometers away, in the far northeast of Inner Mongolia, a huge ice disk has been found floating in a river in Genhe City.

Experts say that in most cases, this unique natural phenomenon occurs only in extremely cold areas where there are nonfreezing rivers. The slowly flowing river could form swirls, which separate some ice from the surrounding ice layer. These ice pieces rotate with the current and grind each other within the circle, eventually forming a disk.

(Cover image is a screenshot.)

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