Harbin city, in China's north, has opened its doors to both international and local visitors for the 32th International Ice and Snow Festival.
The festival, in Heilongjiang province, starts on January 5 and lasts for over one month, drawing tourists with shimmering castles, huge towers, sculptures and thrilling slides, all made of both ice and snow.
The park for this year's festival is the biggest ever built for the event. It equals the size of 112 football fields and 330,000 cubic metres of ice and snow were used. A team of Chinese and foreign designers spent three months constructing the park, assisted by 10,000 workers.
Every winter since 1999, the frozen structures have been built for the largest winter festival in China. It earned Harbin the title of "Ice City."
