Something sure to please fans of elaborate ice architecture: this year's Harbin Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, China, is officially underway, icy iterations of banks and all. As part of 30th annual festival—which includes snow and ice sculpting, mazes, ice skating, and "safari-style Siberian tigers watching"—stunning replicas of recognizable architectural landmarks like the Empire State Building and Rome's Colosseum were meticulously replicated from the chilly construction materials, along with what looks like an entire fortress of ice castles, turrets, and skyscrapers illuminated by, ah, some rather enthusiastic LED lighting.
This year's numbers clock in at a whopping 1,937,504 square feet of ice, 1,614,586 square feet of snow, and at least 10,000 workers, which sounds about right when factoring in that the structures span 5,381,955 square feet and include a 787-foot-long slide. (So yes, the festival's claim that this "ice and snow world," feels "like nowhere else on earth" is probably about right, too.) Design has shots of this year's creations and a few from the years past, right this way.
· Illuminated glacier city at the 2014 harbin ice and snow festival [Design Boom]
·
Welcome to Harbin [Ice Festival Harbin]
· Let's All Have a Look at China's Bank Made Entirely From Ice [Curbed National]
· All Ice Sculpture posts [Curbed National]
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