Harbin Int'l Ice and Snow Festival kicks off. Photos taken on Jan 5,2013 show the night scenery of the Ice and Snow World during the 29th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province. The festival kicked off on Saturday.

The annual Harbin Int'l Ice and Snow Festival has been held since 1963. Harbin 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. Annual low temperatures below -35C are not uncommon. The Harbin festival is one of the world's four largest ice and snow festivals, along with Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival, Canada's Quebec City Winter Carnival, and Norway's Ski Festival.

At this year, the festival’s theme is “happy” and it will last 1 month. During the festival, there are varieties activities, such as ice sculpture, skiing competition, etc...  

Here photos taken on Jan 5, 2013 show the big festival in this year.