Harbin: Fireworks and a drone show light up the night sky over huge illuminated ice sculptures at the opening of China's annual Harbin Ice and Snow Festival. Thousands of tourists flocked to the festival in the northeastern Heilongjiang province on Monday to get a glimpse of the icy creations.

Ye Mei, a tourist, said, "It's very unique, and the entire ice and snow world is designed and laid out with great ingenuity."

Rao Wenle, a Malaysian tourist, said, "What impressed me the most at the Harbin Ice and Snow World today was the fireworks. I didn't know there would be fireworks when I first arrived. I was walking along when I suddenly heard a sound behind me, and when I looked, wow, it was so beautiful."

"The fireworks here lasted longer and were more spectacular than the ones I'd seen before, and I saw fireworks shaped like auspicious rainbow clouds for the first time. There was also a drone show, which I also watched for the first time, and I found it incredibly impressive," Wenle added. (With AFP Inputs)