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The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival is an annual winter event that takes place in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, and it's now the largest ice festival on the planet. It starts every year on January 5th and runs for about two months, boasting a jaw-dropping and shivering display of the world's biggest ice sculptures. At this point of the year, the city is no longer standing, but luckily we have amazing photos in case you've never seen it.

Click through to see the city in all its icy frigid glory—and how it all comes together. When it comes to winter, if you can't beat it, join it!

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The festival originated in Harbin's traditional ice lantern show and winter garden party in the 20th century, but has since transformed into something much, much bigger.

▲Harbin is located in Northeast China and gets its cold winter winds from Siberia, Russia. The average temperature in winter is –16.8°C (1.8°F), though it's been known to drop as low as -25°C (-13°F).

▲The city is sculpted from 110,000 cubic meters (3.88 million cubic feet) of ice and 120,000 cubic meters (4.24 million cubic feet) of snow.

▲The city spans over 600,000 sq m (150 acres) and includes more than 100 landmarks.

▲The city transforms into a colorful, fantasy land at night, with fireworks marking the start of the two-month-long celebration.

▲Not even the warmth of a newly bonded love could melt that ice.

▲The mass wedding took place against the dreamy backdrop of the festival's frozen fortresses—in freezing cold temperatures.

▲China is known for its over-the-top displays, but their city of ice is beyond impressive.

▲Everyone gets to be Elsa from 'Frozen' in this ice city!

▲The festival attracts over a million visitors each year.

▲There are several different parks and the city itself is quite large, so it's a good idea to hop on the adorable winter train.

▲You can also enjoy a fairy-tale ride in a horse-drawn carriage.

▲Or alternatively, employ a loved one to pull you around on a sled.

▲This large sign in the center of the city reads, "New era in China."

▲It looks like the perfect setting for the home of the White Walkers in 'Game of Thrones.'

▲There are very few other places in the world where you can walk through a city lit up like this.

▲When the light hits just right, the ice turns into the magical hues of amethyst, quartz, amber, emerald, and turquoise.

▲That enormous slab of ice is a feat on its own, especially when you find out where they get all the ice from in a few more clicks...

▲You'll reach speeds that snow-sledding could never achieve!

▲There are five enormous and thrilling slides made completely out of ice.

▲You can take hot-air balloon rides, swim in the freezing cold waters, and watch ice-sculpting competitions.

▲An army of 2,019 snowmen are on display on the Songhua River.

▲It's every amazing and youthful part of winter combined, except leveled up with the manpower of many, many hardworking adults.

▲It's almost a holy experience to walk through an ice palace like this. The grandeur surpasses regular brick buildings.

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Chinese workers use a machine to cut out large blocks of ice from the frozen Songhua River.

For weeks before the festival, workers collect and transport nearly 200,000 cubic meters (7.06 million cubic feet) of ice to the site.

▲Most of the cutters are reportedly farmers from nearby villages who start work before the sun rises, at bitterly low temperatures, and earn about US$35 per day.

▲Swing saws are used to carve the ice taken from the Songhua River into blocks. The blocks are lifted into place among a complicated network of scaffolding.

▲The lights are added, and what was once just ice becomes a masterpiece. They quite literally build the city from the ground up.

▲An aerial view of the ice city would surely put every other city to shame. A magnum opus that will never last.

▲A total of 16 teams from 12 different countries competed in crafting ice sculptures. All of this work, for something that will inevitably return to the earth.

▲One artist etched the texture of wood onto ice, in a form of art that is so poetic in the way that it cannot be preserved.

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This is from 2007, but every year the sculptures are just as astonishing as the last.