Nice ice, baby

The annual Longqingxia Ice-Illumination Festival began in Beijing's northern suburb of Yanqing county on Jan 16 to celebrate the coming Spring Festival. The illuminated sculptures and colors create uniquely themed objects.

The annual ice art festival has been held since 1986. This year's sculpture exhibition will last until Feb 28.

About 85 km north of Beijing proper, beautiful Longqingxia is nicknamed of Small Guilin and Small Three Gorges. It is a recreational site with a huge dam built in 1981. Longqingxia is good for skating.