Where winter takes shape

An unlikely, yet much beloved, figure of the community is an elderly farmer who rides a two-wheeled cart drawn by a goat wearing sunglasses, a Peking Opera headdress, multiple facemasks, smiley-face balloons and pinwheels.

Indeed, the scene may seem surreal.

But it's just a warm-up for the always fantastical-and sometimes wacky-winter wonderland that is the Longqing ice fest.

Yang Feiyue contributed to the story.