Ice world gears up for festival in NE China

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival will welcome its 20th anniversary ceremony on Jan 5, 2019. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Winter has turned Northeast China into a world of ice. But local people are looking forward to more freezing days, as Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province and renowned for its winter tourism, has started to build a park for its annual ice and snow festival.
The Harbin International Ice and Snow World is scheduled to open to visitors starting Jan 5 until the end of February. 
The park recently released its design sketches for the upcoming festival, which will include famous traditional Chinese architecture, Gothic architecture and a king tower more than 40 meters high, all built with ice.