Ice sculpture

The countdown has begun for a snow-themed festival to be held for the second time this year in Turkey's eastern province of Ağrı.

Local officials and ice sculptors stepped up their efforts for the long-awaited event, which will be launched on Feb. 25 in the city center.

An ice sculpture exhibition in the Belgian town of Bruges will open its doors to visitors on Saturday for a freezing walk through a world of illuminated frozen creatures, which organizers are calling the first ever digital ice art museum, reported Wavy.com

Forty artists from around the world have been chipping at ice and snow to make this project come to life.

The city of Harbin in China’s frigid northeast is hosting one of the world’s largest festivals featuring ice sculptures of animals, cartoon characters and famous landmarks. The festival, which officially opened last Thursday and last year drew more than a million visitors, showcases the region’s tradition of snow and ice carvings as well as ice swimming in the Songhua River.

The first permanent year-round ice hotel is preparing to open its doors to the public in Sweden in mid-December this year.

 
Aptly named Icehotel 365, the resort features 55 rooms, including 20 suites, all of which are made from local, eco-friendly material — namely, 30,000 liters of frozen water from the Torne River.

A city of ice has been constructed in Heilongjiang province, north-eastern China for the 32nd Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival.

Ice castles, towers and structures illuminated with colored lights will be the main subject of the annual festival.

There is less snow and ice than usual for this season, but for the 11th consecutive year the Hotel of Ice in Romania's Carpathian Mountains has opened its doors as scheduled, just after Christmas.