Dozens of large-scale snow and ice sculptures are once again on display in Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, for the Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo. By day, the massive sculptures depicting folklore, mythology, classical art, cartoon characters and castles almost blend into their icy surroundings like natural formations, and after dark, everything is illuminated with a rainbow of glowing lights. Here are some of the festival’s most impressive sculptures that visitors have captured over the years.

Wild Hair Statue, 2012

Harbin has long, cold winters with temperatures dropping to -36 degrees Fahrenheit, making it cold enough to pack snow very tightly, mold it into place and expect it to stay put. Otherwise, statues with elements like this hair would be difficult to make (photo by cdschock.)

Illuminated Ice Architecture, 2009

The annual winter festival is the largest ice and snow festival in the world, drawing international participants to show off their sculpting skills. The ‘Ice and Snow World’ portion, featuring full-sized buildings made from blocks of 2-3 inch thick ice, is best experienced after dark (photo by Ian Carvell.)

Goddess Statue, 2016

Each year, the event has a ‘trial run’ between December 22nd and January 4th, officially open to the public between January 5th and February 25th. Every year has a different theme, with 2016’s revealed to be “The Wonderland in the Land of Snow, The Grand View in the World of Ice and Snow.” Not clear on what that means, but we’ll find out when photos are released in early 2017 (photo by Time Travelo.)

Snow Sphinx, 2013

Maybe it’s not quite as large as the original, but this ‘snow sphinx’ photographed by Priscilla Dorresteijn is impressive nonetheless.

Illuminated Ice City at Dusk, 2015

The combination of reflective ice and snow with colored lights creates a pastel scene at dusk (photo by Jarod Carruthers.)

Massive Santa, 2009

This large-scale Santa is downright mountainous, looming over life-sized snow sculptures of architecture and trees (photos by Morgann and rdog)

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City Of Ice 20 Photos Of Chinas Amazing Annual Snow Sculptures

While you put the finishing touches on a lopsided snowman in your front yard, ice and snow artists around the world build life-sized ice castles, hotel rooms made of packed snow, and delicate ice sculptures stretching dozens of feet into the air. Illuminated at night, these amazing temporary structures built in some of the world’s coldest places each year look like something out of a winter fairy tale.

Hotel de Glace, Quebec

(images via: hôtel de glace)

The only true ice hotel in North America, Hotel de Glace opens each January with a new theme. In early 2013, that theme was “A Journey to the Center of Winter,” inspired by the Jules Verne novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” It had 44 guest rooms as well as a spa, restaurant, chapel and a bar made of ice.

China Snow World Festival

(images via: inhabitat)

Incredible replicas of Renaissance architecture, classic Russian architecture and other impressive structures are recreated at China’s Jingyue Snow World Festival each year. While not quite life-sized, this ice and snow architecture often reaches heights of thirty to forty feet. They’re hand-carved using low-tech tools.

Castles at Sapporo Snow Festival, Japan

(images via: david mckelvey)

For just seven days each February, millions of visitors gaze upon intricately carved ice architecture and other large-scale sculptures for the Sapporo Snow Festival on the streets of Sapporo City. More than 10 teams compete in the International Snow Statue Contest to build structures reaching 50 feet tall and 150 feet wide, including life-sized dinosaurs. The largest structures can cost up to $100,000 to create, so they’re typically sponsored by countries or corporations.

Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, China

(images via: wikimedia commons)

Harbin, China transforms into an ethereal showcase of ice architecture and sculptures illuminated in bright colors each January. The annual festival began as a traditional ice lantern garden party in 1963 and is now the largest snow and ice festival in the world, taking over virtually the entire city, with a unique theme each year.

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Intricate Ice Architecture 17 Fantastic Frozen Buildings

As the last continent on Earth to be explored – and still the least developed – Antarctica may yet fall prey to the onward march of human civilization, but its lack of resources beyond ice make it an inhospitable place to build. Architecture student Taylor Medlin of the University of California at Berkeley has developed a thesis project packed with ideas, and while some may be fantastically tongue-in-cheek, the project itself is a work of art, revealing tiny worlds cut into the ice.

Medlin’s architectural proposals use various forms of ice as the primary building material rather than unsustainably transported materials from other continents, often reinforced with a variety of additives that could make the ice stronger and easier to work with.

A refrigerated display cabinet holds blocks of ice and wax carved into little rooms, illuminated from within, complete with human figurines that illustrate Medlin’s ideas with stunning detail.

Reminiscent of the miniature models of Thomas Doyle, these rooms are visible through both fisheye lenses that peer inside and magnifying glasses fixed to the outside of the case. Entranced viewers find complex compounds with steel frames, huts on stilts and simple ice caves with secret subterranean basements, all bathed in an eerie golden light.

Medlin, a John K. Branner fellow, has many more photos of the project and scans of his sketchbook available on Flickr.