Workers and a crane are seen next to a newly-built ice sculpture castle ahead of the 30th Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, in Heilongjiang province, China. According to festival organizers, nearly 10,000 workers were employed to build the sculptures, which require about 180,000 square meters of ice and 150,000 square meters of snow.

Jan 4, 2014 | 1:24

Chinese ice festival

Elaborate ice sculptures on display at famous festival in Chinese city of Harbin

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Craftsmen make a snow castle at a park in Changchun, Jilin province, China. 

Workers pull a giant ice cube out of the frozen Songhua River as they extract ice to make sculptures for the 30th Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China, on December 27, 2013. Each ice cube weighs about 250 kilograms (551 lb). According to the festival organizers, nearly 10,000 workers were employed to build the ice and snow sculptures, which require about 180,000 square meters of ice and 150,000 square meters of snow. (Reuters/Sheng Li) #

A woman rides an ice slide on a large snow sculpture in Harbin, on January 4, 2014. (Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon) #  

Icy Days and Nights