The river banks of China's Jilin City have been transformed into a winter wonderland.
Ice has coated the landscape, bringing tourists flocking to the city.
The ice can be seen every year between December and mid-March, when the temperature of the region plummets well below freezing.
Ice forms when water droplets in the air are cooled below 0C. If the landscape is also below freezing, then the droplets will instantly freeze on impact. This forms a rough white deposit, known as "rime".
Normally rime is an unpredictable weather phenomenon, but in Jilin City, it's an annual event, because of the warmth provided by the local river.
The Songhua River, which flows through the city, is warmed by the Fengman hydropower station. It is one of the few rivers in Jilin Province which doesn't freeze over in winter, and can therefore supply plenty of moisture to the air to produce the ice display.
To celebrate the wintry spectacle, the Rime Ice and Snow Festival is held in January every year.
The banks of the Songhua River have been transformed into a winter wonderland. [ChinaFotoPress/Getty]
Thick ice, known as rime, has coated the landscape. [ChinafotoPress/Getty]
It is an annual event which attracts plenty of tourists. [ChinafotoPress/Getty]
The ice forms because the waters of the Songhua River which runs through Jilin are warmed by the Fengman hydropower station, allowing water vapour to evaporate which then freezes when it settles on branches. [ChinafotoPress/Getty]
The Songhua is one of the few rivers in Jilin which doesn't freeze over in winter [ChinafotoPress/Getty]
The river supplies the air with moisture needed for the ice spectacle [ChinafotoPress/Getty]
Normally rime is unpredictable, but Jilin is one of the few places where it can be seen every year [ChinafotoPress/Getty]
The rime usually covers the banks of the Songhua River between December and mid-March. [ChinafotoPress/Getty]
The spectacle is so popular, that it is celebrated in the annual Rime Ice and Snow Festival [ChinafotoPress/Getty]
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