Weather conditions were perfect this week in Harbin, northeast of China where the country’s giant buddhas and skyscrapers have been rendered in ice even if the recent chilly weather caused major havoc in the rest of the northern hemisphere.

Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang Province is the major attraction for hundreds of thousands of residents, as well as visitors from different parts of the world as they celebrated the 27th Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, which officially started last January 5, Wednesday.

The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is one of the world’s largest ice-carving festivals. It features a wide range of activities in ice such as ice swimming, ice sculpture competitions, and different winter sports. It also includes hot air ballooning.

The building and ice sculptures were made from blocks of ice that are cut from the frozen surface of the Songhua River located near the city. The carvings were illuminated with fairy lights, which are enclosed in the translucent ice.

The festival is anticipated to generate millions of visitors this year. The construction costs around 6 million RMB or $909,000, and it occupies a 600,000-square meter ground.

The sculptures are created by different teams from around the world. This time, about 2,000 ice sculptures have already been constructed from an estimated 30,000 cubic meters of ice.

The event is also celebrated together with a trade fair, and this year there are about 1,500 exhibition booths included. That is, twice the number of participants compared to last year’s festival.

Harbin is considered as one of the coldest cities in China where the temperature in January usually drops to minus 20 degrees centigrade.