An enormous ice castle worthy of China’s biggest bank

Now taking ice deposits.
Now taking ice deposits.
Image: Reuters/Sheng Li
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Everything is bigger in China.

This ice castle—or, ice bank fortress—is perhaps the most spectacular entrant in the 30th annual International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin. A sign hanging outside the sculpture suggests it’s intended to look like a branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the nation’s biggest bank.

Harbin first held an ice lantern festival in 1963 and has come to be known for its elaborate snow and ice sculpture festivals.

According to Reuters, nearly 10,000 workers were required to build the sculptures in this year’s festival, using 180,000 square meters of ice and 150,000 square meters of snow. The event starts January 5, 2014.

Another ice sculpture under construction at the festival.
Another ice sculpture under construction at the festival.
Image: REUTERS/Sheng Li