Glorious winter rime comes to desert

With the passing of a cold front recently, Alshaa League in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region — a desert area — has been blessed with the natural beauty of soft rime.

One of nature's wonders, the fragile ice on the trees creates a spectacular sight, turning the area into an ethereal, mystical landscape.

Rime is a special type of frost — granular tufts of ice that appear only when atmospheric conditions are right and water vapor meets cold air. In autumn and winter, mist condenses in the form of frost when it's hyper cold, creating the natural phenomenon.