Fantastic Ice Churches at the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival

Replica of the Notre Dame Cathedral

Replica of the Ukraine Church

We’ve featured photos from the Winter 2003 Harbin Snow and Ice Festival by R. Todd King before, but the ones he took from Winter 2007 are so stunning that we just have to do another a post:

And despite its Gothic architectural style, it replicates nothing in Europe either – though it has been called “the Notre Dame of the Orient” and is of French design. The structure is actually Chinese, a Catholic church located in Hulan, about twenty miles from Harbin. Replicas of a number of Catholic churches and cathedrals local to Harbin graced the festival landscape, and they were far more complex than the ice buildings appearing at the festival just a few years ago. To get a sense of this ice church’s size, notice the horse-drawn sleigh parked out front. And just wait until the lights come on!

Not to be missed: Link – Thanks Katia!

Previously on Neatorama: World’s Largest Snow Sculpture | Harbin Ice and Snow Festival

See also: 10 Divinely Designed Churches