China's ice sculptors build frozen castles in the cold

China's ice sculptors build frozen castles in the cold

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For more than 300 "ice miners" in Harbin, work begins in the numbing cold before dawn every day on the frozen Songhua, a broad river that winds its way through the northeastern Chinese city.

. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
A worker stands on a block of ice while breaking it into smaller pieces at the frozen Songhua River.

Wielding long ice picks, the workers break up the frozen surface of the kilometre-wide river into crate-sized blocks of ice.

. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
A worker carries a chainsaw while constructing an ice structure.

Many of them construction labourers or farmers, they wear knee-high rubber boots, down jackets, thick gloves and hats with flaps to protect their ears from the frigid air.

. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Workers build an ice structure.

"We come to mine ice at 6 a.m. every day," said Zhang Wei, 40. "We need to work overtime sometimes, until 8 or 9 p.m., even late after midnight."

. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
A worker carries a bowl of noodles inside a food stall's makeshift plastic tent, outside the site of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival.

Lunch is brief - a bowl of piping-hot noodles, dumplings or steamed buns. Makeshift canteens built with wooden poles and see-through sheets offer a little warmth.

. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Trucks line up before being loaded with blocks of ice by the bank of the frozen Songhua River.

Every day since early December, tens of thousands of ice blocks have been prised out of the river and moved by truck to the venue of Harbin's annual winter festival, where they are used to build life-sized castles, pagodas, bridges and even a functioning hotpot restaurant.

Ice from the river is essential.

"Artificial ice isn't that thick, and isn't strong enough to stand in the wind," said Wang Qiusheng, who has been carving ice for the festival for 20 years.

. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Workers place an ice block onto an ice structure.

Organisers are racing to complete the sculptures at the festival venue - a busy scene of forklifts, cranes and scaffolding.

The ice blocks are painstakingly laid on top of one another while workers shape, trim and cut them to size with chainsaws, pickle forks and tooth chisels.

. Harbin, CHINA. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Workers build ice structures.

The 37th Harbin International Ice Snow Festival is due to begin on Jan. 5, and will feature skiing, sledding, mass weddings, winter swimming and a theme park of ice sculptures bathed by coloured lights.

With China's international borders heavily restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic, domestic tourists are expected to account for the bulk of visitors marvelling at the ice sculptures next month in temperatures below minus 35 Celsius (minus 31 Fahrenheit).

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Slideshow

Workers build ice structures.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Workers build ice structures.

Blocks of ice are moved while workers build ice structures.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Blocks of ice are moved while workers build ice structures.

A worker shaves a block of ice.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A worker shaves a block of ice.

Workers build ice structures.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Workers build ice structures.

Workers prepare a giant Buddha snow sculpture.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Workers prepare a giant Buddha snow sculpture.

Workers wait to be served lunch at a food stall selling dumplings and buns.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Workers wait to be served lunch at a food stall selling dumplings and buns.

Workers eat lunch inside a food stall's makeshift plastic tent.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Workers eat lunch inside a food stall's makeshift plastic tent.

A worker poses for a photograph.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A worker poses for a photograph.

A worker uses water to bond blocks of ice.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A worker uses water to bond blocks of ice.

A worker poses for a photograph.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A worker poses for a photograph.

A worker carves a block of ice.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A worker carves a block of ice.

A worker carries a block of ice while building an ice structure.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A worker carries a block of ice while building an ice structure.

Workers build ice structures.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Workers build ice structures.

A worker uses a forklift to load blocks of ice onto a truck by the bank of Songhua River.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A worker uses a forklift to load blocks of ice onto a truck by the bank of Songhua River.

A truck driver sits in his cab as blocks of ice are loaded onto his truck before being transported to the site of the festival.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A truck driver sits in his cab as blocks of ice are loaded onto his truck before being transported to the site of the festival.

A worker looks at construction plans.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A worker looks at construction plans.

Workers use ice picks to break up blocks of ice at Songhua River.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Workers use ice picks to break up blocks of ice at Songhua River.

Workers use ice picks to break up blocks of ice at Songhua River.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Workers use ice picks to break up blocks of ice at Songhua River.

A worker carries a tool called a gaff at the frozen Songhua River while extracting blocks of ice.
. Harbin, China. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

A worker carries a tool called a gaff at the frozen Songhua River while extracting blocks of ice.