In pictures: China's winter wonderland

The city of Harbin in north-eastern China holds an annual ice festival which gives world landmarks a cool new image.

Harbin's festival springs from the tradition of sculpting ice lanterns

Ice is dragged from the river Songhua, then cut into blocks

A giant chess set takes shape

No desert heat here: Harbin's ice pyramid

Harbin also has a taste for Napoleonic grandeur

And not to forget the northern neighbours... an icy Kremlin

The show attracts about 500,000 visitors before the spring thaw