Fireworks, giant ice sculptures and slides at China's annual ice festival

China's ice city of Harbin, the capital of northernmost Heilongjiang Province, opened its annual Ice and Snow Festival on Sunday (January 5) with fireworks, colorful and shimmering ice castles and sculptures, and thrilling super ice slides.

Fireworks lit up the frozen wonderland, where many tourists from southern provinces enjoyed seeing the massive ice sculptures and other aactivites despite the -20°C (-4°F) chill, including the most popular and crowded super ice slide, which stretched over 500 meters long.

Tourists flock to see China's winter wonderland

The festival, themed "Shared Dreams of Ice and Snow, United Hearts in Asia," incorporates elements from the 9th Asian Winter Games, which will be held in Harbin from February 7 to February 14.

According to staff at Harbin Ice and Snow World, this year's event is the largest in history, featuring a record-breaking 300,000 cubic meters of ice and snow, the highest amount ever used.

Since its inception in 1983, the festival has drawn millions of visitors from around the world every year. Harbin, one of China's coldest cities, can see temperatures drop as low as -35°C (-31°F).

(Production: Xiaoyu Yin, Josh D.Arslan)