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The northern Chinese city of Harbin plays host to an ice festival every year, but the
2014 opening was less impressive than usual. The 30th annual festival opened its doors
to the public to display massive structures made completely out of ice, ranging from churches
to pagodas.
However, this year's display didn't include a major series of events, the highlight of
which being a scheduled 30-minute fireworks display.
Organisers said that more than a million people are expected to attend this year's festival,
which features sculptures of animals, castles and even a whole bridge. The fireworks display
is usually held every year of the festival on its opening night, but this year, organisers
had to cancel it because of the bad air quality in Harbin. In November of last year, alarming
levels of smog caused the city of 11 million people to effectively shut down, with schools
suspending classes and the local airport temporarily closing.