Ice and snow park starts trial operation in NE China

HARBIN, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- An ice and snow theme park, one of the largest in the world, opened to the public on a trial basis Wednesday in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Harbin Ice and Snow World features sculptures made of ice and snow, and opens every winter in the provincial capital of Harbin as the centerpiece of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, which will start early January.

This year the park covers about 800,000 square meters and used 330,000 cubic meters of ice and snow. During the past two weeks, more than 10,000 workers created landscapes, including mazes, towers and slides.

A 340-meter slide with LED lights embedded in ice cubes is expected to be the most popular attraction. It took 500 to 600 builders to complete, said worker Zheng Linxiong.

Last year the park received more than a million visitors from home and abroad.