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.