The 31st Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival kicked off at the capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, on Jan 5, 2015. [Photo/my399.com]

The 31st Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival kicked off at  Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, on Jan 5. It will last to the end of February when the ice starts to melt.

Themed "Fascinating Ice-Snow Harbin, Charming Chinese Dream", a variety of activities about ice and snow, regarding tourism, culture, fashion, economy, trade and sports, will welcome tourists from around the world during the event.

Originated from the Ice Lantern Show in 1985, the Harbin Ice Festival has become one of the world's four largest ice and snow festivals, along with the Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan, the Quebec Winter Carnival in Canada and Norway's Ski Festival. The annual Ice and Snow Festival is a major event of the "Ice City" Harbin to welcome tourists from around the world in winter.

The Ice Festival is not only an exposition of ice and snow art, but also an annual cultural event for international exchange.

The event has attracted many ice sculpture experts, artists and fans from countries including the US, Canada, Russia and China to gather in the city to compete in ice sculpting competitions and to communicate with each other in the ice and snow world.

Meanwhile, ice sculptors from Harbin worked outside China to create wonderful ice art works in cities in Asia, Europe, North America, Africa and Oceania.

People can have fun in the main venues such as the Sun Island Scenic Area, Ice and Snow World, Zhaolin Park and Central Street, as well as the tourist attractions of the city including St Sophia Church, Harbin Polarland and the Songhua River.

A timetable of the major events during the festival: