After the tigers we were eager to see the Ice & Snow Festival, but we were told to wait until it`s dark as the statues and buildings would be illuminated then and "much more beautiful". I thought of this as typical Chinese, as here in China everything is better when only it`s decorated with flickering lights - cities lighten up like as if they were one big casino once it`s getting dark. In some way Chinese are somewhat like moths - their attention drawn to everything that is lit....
Because it was still only around noon and although winter still a lot of time to kill until the sun would set, we drove to the snowy parts of the city first.
We stopped at a huge snow monument on a deserted square. It`s strange shape, it`s size and the fact that besides us nobody was there, that`s how I imagine walking the streets of Pyongyang. Toni, the then groom-to-be, climbed this oddity, and exactly when I took the pictures the camera got "blinded" by the brightness of the sun and it`s reflection in the snow. Became still a good enough picture, though.
Next stop was the "Metropolis Snow Home". Well, Metropolis really was an exaggeration, as it was not even merely a village, more a bunch of huts and some snow statues, but still nice to see. It´s made from snow, after all, although some of the huts were made of wood with a snow facade built around them.Still lovely.
After a hearty meal at a dog meat restaurant (as Toni`s parents and brother were in China for the first time, that of course was a must) and some relaxing in the hotel, in the evening we finally went to the "Snow & Ice Big World", and, what can I say, I guess the pictures below speak for themselves.
A whole damn city made out of ice. With Castles, palaces, temples, slides, huge statues, beer and coke bottles(one of the biggest ice festivals has to have sponsors, too). All made out of frozen water they sawed out of the river in blocks. And yes, illuminated. And yes, it looked awesome. Although, a little bit too much Kitsch for my taste. But then again, this is China....
I hope you like the pictures as with temperatures around -20° C it was hard work taking them.... No, not really, but wearing two long johns, three pair of thick woolen socks in fur-lined shoes and two pairs of gloves kept the cold out merely two hours. But enough overpriced coffee bars were on the site to warm yourself up...
It`s actually a good thing that the place was pretty crowded as it allows to show the size of the buildings compared to a man - some of the buildings were several storeys tall and you could actually access several floors of some of them.
Amazing, isn`t it? Definetely recommendable.
And for the finish our favorites - made of snow, not ice - two gigantic.... well, I guess Hindu ... goddess statues.
And finally, a little peek on how all this was built - some workers shaping new blocks on the spot for repair measures:
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