The 6th Ice Harvest Festival kicks off on Sunday along the frozen Songhua River in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The 6th Ice Harvest Festival kicked off on Sunday along the frozen Songhua River in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, to line up with the 21st solar term of the year, Daxue, or Major Snow.
At an opening ceremony steeped in heritage, a blessing was read before a group of workers in traditional costumes pulled the year's first ice block from the river.
The 6th Ice Harvest Festival kicks off on Sunday along the frozen Songhua River in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The annual ice harvest begins every December when the temperature drops low enough. Thousands of residents and tourists brave fierce winds and piercing cold to witness the celebration.
Over the next several weeks, workers will collect ice blocks to transport them to different ice and snow scenic spots in the city. One such spot is the Harbin Ice and Snow World Park, one of the most important venues of the city's annual winter gala, the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival.
The 6th Ice Harvest Festival kicks off on Sunday along the frozen Songhua River in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Artists will carve the blocks into fanciful sculptures and transform the city into a winter spectacle. More than 400,000 cubic meters of ice will be used for this year's park.
Because man-made ice often contains air bubbles and lacks the strength needed for carving, the blocks used in the park are taken from the frozen Songhua River.
After the ceremony, attendees joined in various games on the ice and snow and ate local specialties.
The 6th Ice Harvest Festival kicks off on Sunday along the frozen Songhua River in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The 6th Ice Harvest Festival kicks off on Sunday along the frozen Songhua River in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The 6th Ice Harvest Festival kicks off on Sunday along the frozen Songhua River in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The 6th Ice Harvest Festival kicks off on Sunday along the frozen Songhua River in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The 6th Ice Harvest Festival kicks off on Sunday along the frozen Songhua River in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The 6th Ice Harvest Festival kicks off on Sunday along the frozen Songhua River in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Workers cut ice cubes out of the frozen Songhua River on Sunday in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. [Photo by Liu Yang/For chinadaily.com.cn]
The 6th Ice Harvest Festival in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, attracts visitors from home and abroad. [Photo by Yang Wei/For chinadaily.com.cn]
The 6th Ice Harvest Festival in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, attracts visitors from home and abroad. [Photo by Yang Wei/For chinadaily.com.cn]
