The UK’s Christmas displays have been left out in the cold in comparison to China’s new exhibition of mammoth ice sculptures and snow palaces.
Breathtaking images show the Chinese ice festival in freezing -25C , which has consumed more than 300,000 cubic metres of ice and snow to become the world’s largest frozen theme park.
The Harbin Ice and Snow World festival, based in Heilongjiang, China, opened on December 21 to thousands of tourists and will be open for public viewing until late February 2025.
The festival boasts a real-life version of Elsa’s ice palace from the movie Frozen, as well as 24 ice super slides each 521 meters (1,709 feet) in length.
The ‘ice Disneyland’ is in its 26th year and recreates landmarks from over 42 countries.
For those seeking a chillier experience, one area of the park allows swimmers to dive into a hole in the frozen-solid Songhua River.
Authorities have issued frostbite and cold warnings to visitors, who will be unaccustomed to the -25C temperatures, even advising that people wear ski boots to the festival.
Tourists have also been told to wear sunglasses or snow glasses to prevent snow blindness.
The ice sculptures, all 300,000 cubic metres of them, are constructed by thousands of workers over three to four weeks, who cut and collect ice blocks from the Songhua River.
Artists then carve and connect the blocks to create various sculptures or buildings for the winter wonderland.
This transportation process would have involved at least 30,000 to 50,000 truck journeys to move the ice blocks to the park from the river.
The largest ice sculptures have to then be demolished in March or April, before they collapse, potentially dangerously as the ice begins to melt.
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