In a formerly Russian city, China hosts annual ice festival

In a once-Russian city, China hosts annual ice festival: Famed for its massive illuminated ice sculptures, the annual Harbin ice festival in northern China is fashioned to make visitors “feel like Alice in a Chinese version of a Wonderland,” Sophy Roberts writes for the Financial Times. Harbin, which was once settled by Russia, attracts 15 mn visitors for the festival that takes months of work to put together. “All through November and December, some 5,000 men cut and carve the frozen blocks into sculptures reminiscent of Florence’s Duomo, Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, and what looks like a giant Thai pagoda.”