China's ice sculptors build frozen castles in the cold
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.
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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).
Workers build ice structures.
Blocks of ice are moved while workers build ice structures.
A worker shaves a block of ice.
Workers build ice structures.
Workers prepare a giant Buddha snow sculpture.
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.
A worker poses for a photograph.
A worker uses water to bond blocks of ice.
A worker poses for a photograph.
A worker carves a block of ice.
A worker carries a block of ice while building an ice structure.
Workers build ice structures.
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.
A worker looks at construction plans.
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.
A worker carries a tool called a gaff at the frozen Songhua River while extracting blocks of ice.
