Beijing Longqing Gorge Ice and Snow Festival. Photo courtesy of Xinhuanet
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Beijing Longqing Gorge Ice and Snow Festival
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When:
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Jan 2009 (annual)
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Where:
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Longqing Gorge
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| Costs: |
Free
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The Chinese turn winter into a poetic and colourful fiesta of ice and light. The majestic Longqing Gorge, 80km outside Beijing, is the scene for fireworks, ice sculptures and ice fishing. Massive blocks of ice are carved into animals and figures of all shapes and sizes.
Families come for a fun day out and people fill the Old City of Nine Windings, as the ancients called it. Located in the mountainous area of Yanqing County and only ten miles from the county capital, the gorge is easily accessible from Beijing.
If you're lucky you'll even see the famous ice lanterns, which are made of ice and hold in their centre a glowing orb of light which catches the glint of the figures from afar.
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