BlueDotMusic's video: Jade Phaedrus Harvey Summers Winter Chill Out Music Harbin Snow Sculpture Festival Blue Dot Music

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival' (Chinese: 哈尔滨国际冰雪节; pinyin: Hā'ěrbīn Guójì Bīngxuě Jié) is an annual winter festival that takes place with a theme in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, and now is the largest ice and snow festival in the world. At first participants in the festival were mainly Chinese, however it has since become an international festival and competition. The festival includes the world's biggest ice sculptures. Officially, the festival starts on January 5 and lasts one month. However, exhibits often open earlier and stay longer, weather permitting. While ice sculptures are erected throughout the city, there are two main exhibition areas: Sun Island is a recreational area on the opposite side of the Songhua River from the city, which features an expo of enormous snow sculptures. Ice and Snow World is an area open at night which features illuminated full size buildings made from blocks of 2–3' thick ice taken directly from the Songhua River. At first China celebrated it then Harbin took over. During the festival, there are ice lantern park touring activities held in many parks in the city. Winter activities during the festival include Yabuli alpine skiing, winter-swimming in the Songhua River, and the ice-lantern exhibition in Zhaolin Garden. Harbin is located in Northeast China and receives cold winter wind from Siberia. The average temperature in summer is 21.2 °C (70.2 °F), and –16.8 °C (1.8 °F) in winter. Annual lows of -35 °C (–31 °F) are not uncommon. Swing saws are used to carve ice into blocks, taken from the frozen surface of the Songhua River. Chisels, ice picks and various types of saws are then used by ice sculptors to carve out large scaled ice sculptures,[5] many of them intricately designed and worked on all day and night prior to the commencement of the festival. Deionised water can also be used, producing ice blocks as transparent as glass to make clear sculptures rather than translucent ones.Multicoloured lights are also used to give colour to ice, creating variations on sculptured spectacles when lit up especially at night. Some ice sculptures made in previous years include: buildings and monuments of different architectural types and styles, figures including animals people and mythical creatures, slippery dips or ice slides and lanterns.Apart from winter recreational activities available in Harbin, these exquisitely detailed, mass-produced ice sculptures are the main draw card in attracting tourists around the world to the festival. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbin_International_Ice_and_Snow_Sculpture_Festival Jade By Phaedrus Composed By Harvey Summers. ©2016 blue dot music All Worldwide Rights Reserved. http://www.facebook.com/bluedotmusic Video created for blue dot music by Robert Nichol/Allcast http://www.allcast.co.uk