Icy days and nights

Today is the opening day of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in Harbin, China.

The festival lasts for one month, and features large ice and snow sculptures, ice lanterns, swimming in the icy Songhua River and more.

The northern hemisphere is a hospitable place for ice festivals these days, so in that spirit, here is a collection of recent photographs of all things frozen, and some of the ways we live and play with ice.