The Harbin ice sculpture festival may soon be over but artists from the city are already in Jerusalem, Israel, creating "The City of Ice", a 1500 square meter exhibit of giant ice sculptures. They're also set to bring a touch of winter to the otherwise tropical Thailand and Macau. more ›

Heavy snow swept across northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and northeast China's Jilin Province on Wednesday, with some areas in Xinjiang seeing 200 millimeters of snowfall. [Euronews] more ›

A severe cold snap in China caused more than 20 car accidents and at least six injuries. Meanwhile, many people in rural China are facing sub-zero temperatures as another cold snap gets ready to hit the country. [AP] more ›

The Hukou Waterfall, China's second largest waterfall, located on the border of Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, are an absolutely spectacular sight in winter to behold. more ›

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We posted shots of new army recruits training out in Xinjiang earlier and now we've got our hands on some more Xinjiang military photos -- this time of soldiers border patrolling 5492 meters above sea and at -37 degrees. more ›

All that snow explained! Shanghai Daily has just confirmed that this past month was indeed the coldest January we've experienced in 30 years. more ›

One-month old recruits stationed in the Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang receive training at temperatures as low as minus 30℃. more ›

As part of their winter endurance training, cadets at the Second Artillery Command College and military police trainees based in Altay, Xinjiang train outdoors in temperatures as low as minus 35 degrees celsius and rub handfuls of snow on their bare chests. more ›

French resort operator Club Med has opened what is touted as the "first international standard Club Med snow resort" in China. Located at Yabuli, China's largest and most famous ski grounds, in Heilongjiang province, the new Club Med resort was built at a cost of $3.85 million and boasts 18 ski runs, the most in the country. Four more Club Med resorts are set to open in China over the next five years.
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The recent cold spell that swept across Guizhou and Hunan provinces have made roads impassable, stranded motorists and affected electricity supply in some areas. Here in the Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County, local children are now carrying their own coal burners to school to help them stay warm. The burners come in different shapes and sizes -- some are made from disused tin cans and others from old washbasins. more ›

Visitors to Harbin's International Ice and Snow Festival strip down to their bathing suits and swim in the icy waters, believing this is good for health: more ›

120,000 cubic meters of snow and 160,000 cubic meters of ice cut in massive translucent blocks from the Songhua River. That's what it takes to put together the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, now in its 26th year.
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As someone once said, “Sex is like snow, you never know how many inches you're going to get or how long it will last”. So while our snow ended kinda prematurely yesterday, we can only look on with envy at the many many inches everyone else is getting (we're looking at you, Harbin!). For a start, check out this mass wedding in Harbin that will totally give the Moonies a run for their money! Catch the lone (relatively underdressed) midget without a bride at 0:24 (everybody say awwwwww!) more ›

If you thought the last few days were chilly, get ready to be miserable all weekend. According to Xinmin, we're in for freezing temperatures as a howling north wind causes Shanghai to cool quickly. Today, we can look forward to highs of 5C and lows of -2C. Temperatures will drop to highs of 3C and lows of -3C on Saturday before rising back to today's temps on Sunday. Weather experts warned anyone traveling over the weekend to bundle up, and to keep a close eye on outdoor water pipes and problems with electricity or gas. more ›

And while you're visiting the ice festival in Harbin, why not consider taking a dip into the chilly river with these guys? This video sure makes swimming along to Chinese techno music look fun! more ›

From Sexy Beijing:

Snowboard pros from around the world converged on Beijing's Nanshan ski area this winter for the Nanshan Open, battling it out for $25,000 in prizes. Sexy Beijing correspondent Rachel Dupuy headed out to Nanshan to see what's going on with China's newly forming snowboarding scene. Featuring music by Beijing band Carsick Cars.

Earlier this week the heat in our bedroom pooped out. The weather on Friday hit a promising 18 degrees and we thought our prayers had been answered, but no such luck. Xinhua has put much of China back on a code red weather alert and it looks like we're head right back to highs in the single digits.

Anhui and Jiangsu in east China, Hubei and Henan in central China and Shanxi and Shaanxi in mid-west China will experience snow or sleet, while blizzards could hit the northwest part of Hubei, said the NMC. more ›

For those of you that found that video of that Guangzhou train station stampede too gruesome to watch, then please, DO NOT click on this video (h/t to Global Voices). The clip contains images of dead bodies, and in fact it's so gory we're surprised that it hasn't been removed from Youku yet. more ›

Share with us how you see Shanghai, or China! Post your photos on Flickr, tag them with "shanghaiist", and we'll select one favorite image per day. Or you can simply email your photos to photos at shanghaiist.com. more ›

We've all been hearing reports about the nightmare caused by the snow, or what Xinhua calls "China's war on snow havoc", which isn't quite as felicitous a phrase as the "US War on Terror", but hey, at least it's more real! The New York Times, among other media outlets, talks about the sense of anger and resentment that people are feeling about what some consider as a lack of preparation on the government's part. more ›

Reuters: China steeled for worse weather as holidays loom more ›

What do you do when your well-inebriated friends ring at 1am asking you to join them for an impromptu snow fight? Life's decisions have never been tougher - toasty comfort of your living room sofa or sub-zero temperatures with the promise of snow angels thrown in for good measure? You hop into a cab, of course. more ›

Long story short, the place is a zoo, but what'd you expect. Of course, things are made worse by the weather. Here are some pics from the last few days. From what we've been hearing both in the news and in our apartment elevator, the dastardly weather gods have caused big time cancellations and problems. Despite the crowds of cold people and the massive B.O. from the people waiting inside the subway station, things seem more or less ok. Order has been maintained. Lots of places are already sold out, but order has been maintained, in part thanks to the police and PLA. more ›

Now that the People's Liberation Army has been called in to battle the snow and the terms "war", "disaster" and "national crisis" are being used in association with the present weather conditions, we're feeling guilty for making a snowman yesterday in the park and secretly loving every flake. more ›

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Nasty. Nasty. Nasty. If we didn't have to walk the dogs, we'd just stay inside our (semi) warm living room all day. We know the miserable sleet (or is it freezing rain?) and slippery conditions are forcing some offices to send workers home early today. But winter's icy grip on China is far more serious than some missed work or a slip on the sidewalk. Here's a rundown (and, please, feel free to add to this list in a comment): more ›