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CHINA
Location - Asia; Capital - Beijing; Population - 1.3 billion; Currency - Yuan MORE CHINA
It's about 8 hours by train from the North Korea border to Harbin in the north-east of China, famous for its very grand snow and ice festivals - February 2011.
Chairman Mao Zedong on the 5 Yuan note
It's amazing to think that this castle, likened to a Disney castle, is built entirely from blocks of ice - Harbin
And a few seconds later it changes colour - Harbin
This is the 12th Ice & Snow World, held in Harbin every winter - Harbin
It officially opens at the beginning of January and closes mid-February, but preparations begin before Christmas and, provided temperatures allow, continue until the end of February - Harbin
A close up of the fluorescent tubes used to illuminate the ice structures - Harbin
This time it's a blue ice castle, with what was labelled the 'Dreamlike Stage' behind - Harbin
I'm not sure 'Dreamlike Stage' is its real name but it is the biggest - if not the tallest - structure at the festival - Harbin
Music is pumped through loudspeakers; fancy listening to Janet Jackson love songs on a 25 minute loop? Harbin
Climb the steps to the stage area and marvel at the ice towers - Harbin
..And get a panoramic view of the ice temples - Harbin
There's plenty of slides to entertain the kids. And for adults to pretend it's for the kids - Harbin
The steps of one of the smaller ice castles - Harbin
Two fantastic Buddhist snow sculptures. Soothing music is played in this area, and prayer mats are available - Harbin
I first saw these glowing trees in Dandong, on the North Korea border - Harbin
Ice pagodas - Harbin
The Ice & Snow World is held across the Songhua River at Sun Island Park - Harbin
When I visited in February the temperature was around -20°C. Get those thermals on! Harbin
Behind the windmill are the cafés where you can warm up with a coffee and a hot meal (or Burger King?!) - Harbin
Most of the tourists coming to the festival are Chinese, presumably enjoying their Spring Festival holidays - Harbin
The Ice and Snow World is busiest in the evening once the lights come on, but it's also worth going in the day to have a closer look at how the structures are built - Harbin
The ice is taken from the frozen river close by and then sawn into blocks - Harbin
Buddhist temples have a bell tower, and the ice festival has one of its own, which you can pound with a log to your heart's desire - Harbin
The huge snow carving of Buddha was definitely a highlight - Harbin
Praying before Buddha - Harbin
Horses and carriages ferry people around the Ice & Snow World complex - Harbin
At the top of these steps was a queue for a snow slalom using inflatable tyres - Harbin
The sun sets behind an ice tower - Harbin
When the sun sets the festival takes on a completely different look - Harbin
The ice castle lights are switched on ready for the night visuals - Harbin
Carriages await at the entrance to the Ice & Snow World - Harbin
Outside the Ice & Snow World. Tickets cost Y280 (about 33 Euros) - Harbin
Also held in Sun Island Park, albeit another section, is the International Snow Sculpture Art Expo. Near the entrance is a reproduction of Mona Lisa - Harbin
In 2011 many of the sculptures had an Italian theme; this was one of my favourites - Harbin
Any ideas who this is? I'm guessing he's Italian - Harbin
Candied fruit outside one of the coffee shops - Harbin
Various artists from around the world are invited to contribute to the snow sculpture expo - Harbin
I don't know if this has anything to do with Italy but it's unbelievable - Harbin
It's scale is huge - Harbin
There was a café close by to enjoy the view in (slightly) warmer surroundings - Harbin
Marco Polo and his adventures - Harbin
This Korean sculpture was entitled ' Dream car' - Harbin
I really like this one - 23rd International Snow Sculpture Art Expo, Harbin
And this one's superb. Awards were given to the various category winners - Harbin
A horse and carriage passes in front of one of the larger snow sculptures - Harbin
Great characters in this one, a close up of the photo above - -Harbin
A ticket for this expo was Y150 in 2011 (about 18 Euros) - Harbin
Former Italian striker Roberto Baggio is immortalised in snow (until he melts) -Harbin
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is an obvious Italian connection - Harbin
Back in the city itself is the Church of St Sophia, which looks great at night - Harbin
The square in front of the Church of St Sophia - Harbin
Also in the square is what looks like an open-air market - Harbin
And the same to you - Stalin Park, Harbin. This isn't made of snow by the way, it's permanent.
Another snow and ice exhibition is based at Zhaolin Park in central Harbin
Zhaolin Park hosted the original ice lantern festival many years ago, but those at Sun Island Park have taken over - Harbin
I guess this is a café when it's open - Harbin
Game of table tennis anyone? Harbin
A flower frozen in a block of ice - Harbin
There's a few coloured ice carvings at Zhaolin Park - Harbin
Within the grounds of Zhaolin Park is International Ice Sculpture Exhibition - Harbin
This is an entry from Thailand - Harbin
There's some extremely intricate carvings - Harbin
An ice carving of a ballerina - Harbin
Zhaolin Park is a small park a few minutes walk from the Flood Control Monument - Harbin
If you're going to visit Zhaolin Park I'd say it's best to go before seeing the 2 bigger expos as you're expectations won't be so high - Harbin
Go in the late afternoon to see it during daylight and as darkness falls - Harbin
A pagoda at the end of an ice walkway - Harbin
Entrance to Zhaolin Park is also Y150 - Harbin
Zhaolin Park's indoor laser show was pretty impressive - Harbin
While in Harbin I had to make a visit to an Ice Bar.
It was funny to check the temperature and realise it was warmer in the Ice Bar than outside! Harbin
Sampling a bottle of Harbin beer in my deerstalker hat - Harbin
The Ice Bar was a very foggy place to be - Harbin
A violinist carved from (you guessed it!) ice - Harbin
Tables and chairs are also made from blocks of ice - Harbin
The main shopping street Zhongyang Dajie is a hive of actiivity in the evening. It's full of shops, bars and restaurants - Harbin
I don't fancy being a stall owner in the winter - Harbin
At first I thought these fruits on a stick were encased in ice, but thankfully it's glazed sugar, more like a toffee apple - Harbin
One of the streets off Zhongyang Dajie, the main shopping street - Harbin
Website and content Copyright © 2008-2011 Mark Wilkinson. All rights reserved.
LINKS
www.chinatoday.com - lots of info about China
www.cnto.org - China tourist board
I am not responsible for the content of external websites.
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