Make that frostbite count.

March 30, 2004 6:11 AM

The Harbin Snow and Ice Festival The temperature in Harbin, China reaches forty below zero, both Fahrenheit and centigrade, and stays below freezing nearly half the year. The city is actually further north than notoriously cold Vladivostok, Russia, just 300 miles away. Rather than suffer the cold, the residents of Harbin celebrate it, with an annual festival of snow and ice sculptures and competitions. The main link actually shows the 2003 sculptures; here are some from this year.
posted by orange swan (5 comments total)

Wow, those are beautiful - thanks for the links, orange swan.
posted by contessa at 6:49 AM on March 30, 2004

Wow, I'm sure I'd heard of this before and seen pics, but for some reason these just blew me away. I know where my next trip overseas is going to take me!
posted by PigAlien at 7:20 AM on March 30, 2004

The antithesis of Burning Man. Very cool, thanks.
posted by stbalbach at 9:39 AM on March 30, 2004

Incredible photos. This festival is now on my list of places to visit in the near future. MetaFilter still works :)
posted by adrianhon at 9:42 AM on March 30, 2004

To quote Christopher Walkin: Wowwy, wowwy, wow! So very cool...no pun intended.
posted by dejah420 at 10:26 AM on March 30, 2004