The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival attracts millions of visitors every year. But with warming temperatures, workers worry for the future of the festival and their livelihoods.
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00:00A winter wonderland that draws millions of visitors to northeast China every year.
00:05The Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival features huge structures
00:09made entirely of snow and blocks of ice, standing unmelted for up to two months.
00:15Preparing for the festival begins weeks before. On the frozen surface of the Songhua River,
00:21ice harvesters gather, braving sub-zero temperatures to carefully cut the thick
00:27blocks that will form the structures at the festival. But this year was unseasonably warm,
00:33and the harvesters noticed a difference.
00:36This year's ice is different from last year's. This year, the temperature is higher,
00:42the ice is thinner, and the ice is thicker every year. This year's ice is 15-16 cm thicker than last year.
00:53During a 16-hour shift, harvesters can cut up to 2,700 ice bricks, earning up to 27 cents per brick.
01:02But with 2024 as the hottest year on record, and the ice thickness changing,
01:08so have their paychecks, a worrying trend for the seasonal workers.
01:19With the opening of the festival, artists have now transformed the harvested ice blocks
01:24into this winter wonderland. But as climate change accelerates and winters get warmer,
01:30the future of this festival may be on thin ice.
01:34Chris Monherel-Hughes for Taiwan Plus.