Remember seeing photos of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in January—those huge ice sculptures set up in a park, part of an annual festival held in Harbin, northeastern China? Well, when the festival is over and springtime rolls around, those giant ice castles are left to melt and crumble in place, eventually becoming slushy piles cluttered with steel support rods, cables, and electrical wires that once powered colorful night lighting. Earlier this month, the photographer Wang Zhaobo visited Harbin to gather some fascinating aerial images of this ephemeral architecture returning to its liquid state.
The Temporary Ruins of Harbin’s Melting Ice Sculptures
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Read moreAn aerial view of partly melted ice sculptures at Harbin Ice and Snow World in Heilongjiang province, China, on March 15, 2019 #
Wang Zhaobo / VCG via Getty -
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Read moreA photo of the ice sculptures during the festival in Harbin on January 7, 2019 #
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Read moreThe crisp facade of ice has melted and crumbled away from this sculpture in Harbin, photographed from above on March 15, 2019. #
Wang Zhaobo / VCG via Getty -
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Read moreAs the ice blocks melt and fall away, underlying support structures, cables, and wiring emerge. #
Wang Zhaobo / VCG via Getty -
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Read moreMultiple ice structures in varying degrees of decay, photographed on March 15, 2019 #
Wang Zhaobo / VCG via Getty -
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Read moreMock stained-glass windows have fallen away from a collapsing church sculpture. #
Wang Zhaobo / VCG via Getty -
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Read moreA frozen replica of the Colosseum falls to pieces. #
Wang Zhaobo / VCG via Getty -
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Read moreA leaning tower bends earthward amid other melting ice structures in Harbin, China. #
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Read moreAn aerial view of partly melted ice sculptures, taken on March 15, 2019 #
Wang Zhaobo / VCG via Getty -
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Read moreA crumbling replica of the Burj Khalifa still stands among melting piles of ice and snow. #
Wang Zhaobo / VCG via Getty -
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Read moreA top-down view of an ice structure with collapsing walls #
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Read morePigeons fly above melting ice sculptures at Harbin Ice and Snow World in Heilongjiang province, China, on March 15, 2019. #
Wang Zhaobo / VCG via Getty
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