The temperature in Harbin reaches forty below zero, and stays below freezing nearly half the year. The city is actually further north than notoriously cold Vladivostok , Russia , just 300 miles away. So what does one do here every winter? Hold an outdoor festival, of course! Rather than suffer the cold, the residents of Harbin celebrate it, with an annual festival of snow and ice sculptures and competitions.
The ice festival, a few miles away from the snow festival, is anything but dull and colorless. Crowds flocking to the entrance are greeted by dance music booming in the distance, as if at an outdoor pop concert. And bright neon colors shine everywhere, buried within huge blocks of ice forming structures as high as thirty meters, such as this huge structure beyond the entryway. You can just make out people standing atop its blue and red stairway.

A Panoramic View of the Harbin Ice and Snow World Park. All of the structures are made from ice blocks fitted with neon lights, except for the giant snow Buddha.

Harbin is one of the sources of ice and snow culture in the world. Geographically, it is located in Northeast China under the direct influence of the cold winter wind from Siberia. The average temperature in summer is 21.2 degrees Celsius, −16.8 degrees Celsius in winter. It can be as cold as −38.1 degrees Celsius in winter.

The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival has been held since 1985. Although the official start date is January 5th each year, in practice, many of the sculptures can be seen before. While there are ice sculptures throughout the city, there are two main exhibition areas: Enormous snow sculptures at Sun Island (a recreational area on the opposite side of the Songhua River from the city) and the separate "Ice and Snow World" that operates each night. Ice and Snow World features illuminated full size buildings made from blocks of ice. Winter activities in the festival include Yabuli Alpine Skiing, winter-swimming in Songhua River, and the ice-lantern exhibition in Zhaolin Garden. Snow carving and ice and snow recreations are world famous.

Harbin is one of the sources of ice and snow culture in the world. Geographically, it is located in Northeast China under the direct influence of the cold winter wind from Siberia. The average temperature in summer is 21.2 degrees Celsius, −16.8 degrees Celsius in winter. It can be as cold as −38.1 degrees Celsius in winter.

See how this cute pugs in a snow slider enjoy a winter day.

This is my track Wishery, comprising vocal syllables, musical chords and sound effects recorded from the 1937 Disney classic Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs....

A Russian research ship has spotted an extremely rare white adult orca, or killer whale, off the coast of Kamchatka for the first time in history. No one knows the reason for the whale's unusual pigmentation. ­The scientists identified the whale by his pure white fin, swimming together with his pod, or family, all of which have the standard black and white coloration. He has been given the nickname Iceberg, and appears to be behaving normally.

Diwali Festival of Lights is celebrated in many countries especially in India between mid-October and mid-November. This video shows the celebration from 2010.

Diwali (also spelled Devali in certain regions) or Deepawali,popularly known as the "festival of lights", is an important festival in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, celebrated for different reasons, occurring between mid-October and mid-November. For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes.

Photographs of Berlin Germany's "Festival of Lights" set to Earth Wind and Fire's "Let's Groove."