China’s Snow and Ice Festival

People visit ice sculptures as fireworks illuminate the night sky marking the opening of the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival on Jan. 5, 2017.

(Nicolas Asfouri / AFP/Getty Images)

Chicago Tribune

Jan. 4, 2017 9:11 AM PT

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The Harbin Snow and Ice Festival helps the Chinese celebrate the new year in Harbin, China, from early January to early February. It is the world’s largest such celebration and features 20-foot-tall carvings and entire buildings constructed of ice blocks.

People walk on the ice stairs at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Jan. 5, 2017.

(Wu Hong / EPA)

A reindeer is seen among the ice sculptures at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Jan. 4, 2017.

(Nicolas Asfouri / AFP/Getty Images)

Visitors gaze at an ice sculpture at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Jan. 5, 2017.

(Wu Hong / EPA)

People walk among the illuminated ice sculptures at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Jan. 4, 2017.

(Nicolas Asfouri / AFP/Getty Images)

A woman takes a photo as she visits ice sculptures at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Jan. 5, 2017.

(Nicolas Asfouri / AFP/Getty Images)

An aerial view shows the massive ice sculptures of the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Dec. 21, 2016.

(Tian Weitao / EPA)

A child plays next to a snow sculpture at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival, in Harbin, China, on Jan. 5, 2017.

(Wu Hong / EPA)

Fireworks explode over the ice sculptures at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Jan. 5, 2017.

(Wu Hong / EPA)

People scale the ice sculptures at the 18th Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Dec. 21, 2016.

(Tian Weitao / EPA)

An aerial view shows people walking among the ice sculptures at the 18th Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Dec. 21, 2016.

(Tian Weitao / EPA)

Visitors play on a slide on a castle-like structure made from blocks of ice at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Jan. 5, 2017.

(Helene Franchineau / AP)

People play near a snow sculpture at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Jan. 5, 2017.

(Wu Hong / EPA)

Visitors are dwarfed by a snow sculpture at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival, in Harbin, China, on Jan. 5, 2017.

(Wu Hong / EPA)

People visit illuminated ice sculptures at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival on Jan. 4, 2017.

(Nicolas Asfouri / AFP/Getty Images)

People visit ice sculptures during the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival to celebrate the new year in Harbin, China, on Jan. 4, 2017.

(Nicolas Asfouri / AFP/Getty Images)

People visit ice sculptures illuminated by colored lights at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Jan. 4, 2017.

(Nicolas Asfouri / AFP/Getty Images)

People visit ice sculptures at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Jan. 4, 2017.

(Nicolas Asfouri / AFP/Getty Images)

People climb the ice sculptures at the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Jan. 4, 2017.

(Nicolas Asfouri / AFP/Getty Images)

People tour the large-scale ice sculptures at the 18th Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin city, China, on Dec. 21, 2016.

(Tian Weitao / EPA)

An aerial view shows the massive ice sculptures of the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China, on Dec. 21, 2016.

(Tian Weitao / EPA)

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China’s Snow and Ice Festival

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