Ice sculptures are displayed at the annual Ice and Snow festival in Harbin,
northeast China's Heilongjiang province on January 5, 2010.
An ice scuplture of the Great Sphinx of Giza is displayed at the festival.
Fairy tale palaces, towering pagodas, and even an Egyptian Sphynx - all carved
from ice - are among the sights at this year's Harbin International Ice and
Snow Sculpture Festival, as the annual event, now in its 26th year.
The festival pulls crowds from across China and even a few visitors from
overseas, drawn to the unique visions of an international roster of sculptors
who illuminate their creations with multicolored electric lights encased in the
translucent ice.
Fireworks light up the sky to kick off the annual Ice and Snow festival in
Harbin.
