Harbin Ice and Snow World in northeastern China reopens as temperatures drop to the coldest of the year. The 600,000-square-meter ice and snow wonderland is one of the largest of its kind and marked its 20th anniversary.
Only open during the coldest two months, the Ice and Snow World regularly hosts over one million tourists each year both from China and around the globe.
With temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius below zero, tourists should remember to wear enough clothes.
"So we made sure to wear lots of cloths to keep warm, but we could use some more," said Ryan Bour, an American visiting the park. Bour, however, added that the trip has been definitely worth it because there were not many places in the world like this.
The 45-meter-tall 1999 Century Light Tower is the highest in the park. /CGTN Photo
Castles, cathedrals and palaces built with ice blocks are standing all over. With the theme "20 Years of Creating a Dreamland," Harbin Ice and Snow World brought back many of the most popular ice buildings exhibited during the past two decades. The 1999 Century Light Tower is the tallest in the park this year －45 meters high, and it symbolizes when the wintry theme park first opened in 1999.
In addition to large ice buildings, there are also smaller ice and snow sculptures.
"A 4.5-meter-tall with two figures combined sculpture usually take a team of four people three days," said Guan Hongliang, a lead ice sculptor working for Harbin Ice and Snow World.
Ice sculptor Guan Hongliang is carving out a piglet on ice blocks, signifying the upcoming Chinese Lunar Year of Pig. /CGTN Photo
The Ice and Snow World remains open until February 2019.