Harbin Ice Festival kicks off 32nd year in China

HARBIN, China, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- The Harbin International Snow and Ice Festival in northern China has begun its 32nd year with sculptures and towers reaching up to 150 feet high.

The festival, which this year bears the theme "Pearl on the Crown of Ice & Snow," officially opened to the public Tuesday with sculptures and ice towers spread out across multiple themed areas.

Organizers said this year's festival used a record 11.7 million cubic feet of snow to create the towers and works of art.

"The main tower, 46.5 meters [152.5 feet] high, was built with 20,000 cubic meters [706,000 cubic feet] of ice," Wang Zengyu, deputy general manager of the park, told the state-run Xinhua news agency. "It might be the highest ice tower in the world."