Ice and Snow:Chicago's Freezing Fire and festival Harbin China

 

ICE AND SNOW: CHICAGO’S FIRE AND FESTIVAL IN HARBIN CHINA   On Tuesday night, a huge vacant warehouse on Chicago's South Side went up in flames. Fire department officials said it was the biggest blaze the department has had to battle in years and one-third of all Chicago firefighters were on the scene at one point or another trying to put out the flames. Complicating the scene was the weather -- temperatures were well below freezing and the spray from the fire hoses encased everything below in ice, including buildings, vehicles, and some firefighting gear. The warehouse was gutted, but the fire was contained. Fire crews remain on the scene as some smaller flare-ups continue to need attention. A truck is covered in ice as firefighters work to extinguish a massive blaze at a vacant warehouse in Chicago, Illinois, on January 23, 2013. More than 200 firefighters battled the five-alarm fire as temperatures were in the single digits. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) 2 Chicago firefighters battle a five-alarm blaze in single digit temperatures at a warehouse on the city's South Side, Bridgeport neighborhood, on January 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) # 3 Icicles form on a fire hose as Chicago firefighters battle a five-alarm blaze in a warehouse on the city's South Side, on January 23, 2013.(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) # 4 A Chicago firefighter's helmet, covered with ice while fighting a warehouse fire on January 23, 2013, in Chicago.(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) # 5 Firefighters work to extinguish a massive blaze at a vacant warehouse on January 23, 2013. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) # 6 Firefighters spray down hot spots on an ice covered warehouse that caught fire on January 23, 2013. (Reuters/John Gress) # 7 Firefighters assess the scene of an ice-covered warehouse that caught fire Tuesday night, in Chicago, on January 23, 2013.(Reuters/John Gress) # 8 An ice-encrusted truck is blanketed in smoke after a warehouse fire in Chicago, on January 23, 2013. (Reuters/John Gress) # 9 Firefighters spray down hot spots on a warehouse that caught fire in Chicago, on January 23, 2013. (Reuters/John Gress) # 10 Firefighters continue battling a massive warehouse fire on January 23, 2013 in Chicago, that officials say is one of the largest fires in recent years. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) # 11 Smoke moves over icy trucks behind a firefighter at a vacant warehouse fire, on January 23, 2013 in Chicago. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) # 12 Ice-covered trucks and barrels are blanketed in smoke after a warehouse fire in Chicago, on January 23, 2013. (Reuters/John Gress) # 13 A truck sits encased in ice after a warehouse fire in Chicago, on January 23, 2013. (Reuters/John Gress) # 14 Ice formations jut out from the walls of the warehouse that had burned the night before. Firehoses spraying water on the building for hours in freezing temperatures built up ice structures on every surface. (Reuters/John Gress) # 15 A truck is encased in ice, after a warehouse fire in Chicago, on January 23, 2013. (Reuters/John Gress) # 16 Chicago Fire Department Lieutenant Charley De Jesus walks around an ice-covered warehouse that caught fire in Chicago, on January 23, 2013.(Reuters/John Gress

These frozen wonders are part of a display at the 29th annual Harbin International Ice and Snow festival held in Harbin, near the Russian border in northeast China.The palaces and sculptures are made from hollow blocks of ice and lit up using LED lights creating a multicoloured glow-in-the-dark skyline on the shores of the nearby Songhua river. The festival features work by some of the country's best ice sculptors and attracts thousands of visitors from around the world who marvel at the wonderous creations, enjoy the fireworks over the City of Ice or appeal to their inner child as they take a ride on the ice-slides.   Subzero ceremony: Spectators cheer as fireworks are set off to celebrate the opening of the 29th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival earlier today A Song-ha of Ice and Fire: The ice constructions lighting up the dark sky of Harbin are created using ice from the nearby Songha river Winter is coming: The three-month-long subzero festival is running for the 29th year having been restored in 1999 after a break throughout the cultural revolution   Winter is coming: Visitors walk among large ice sculptures at the 29th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival which opened today Cool tradition: The very first festival is thought to have been held in 1963 in Harbin celebrating the local tradition of turning ice into lanterns Towering blocks: Sculptors from across China attempt to out-do each other with spectacular creations involving blocks of ice Frozen techniques: Over the years the structures have developed and now visitors play inside the freezing houses, trek up ice stairs and swoosh down slides Bright side of the moon: A palace decorated with frozen half-moons attract tourists attention Slip and slide: Young visitors enjoy riding on one of the large slides provided as a means of transport during the festival Dashing through the snow: Spread out across three zones, the theme park features a range of snow-based rides, ice mountains and reproductions of some of the most iconic buildings in the world Vast Winter Wonderland: The festival park has grown each year and hopes to break the record in 2013 Let the light LED the way: Visitors take photo of the night scenery of the Ice and Snow World during the 29th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival Whiter shade of pale: Tourists flock on and around the ice palaces as darkness falls in preparations for the opening ceremony Fish-eye view: A special lens captures the great buildings, many created using ice from the nearby Songhau river