Ephemeral beauty: At temperatures between minus 12 and minus 22 degrees, ice sculptors compete against each other at the 35th Harbin International Ice Sculpture Competition in Harbin in the far north-east of China. Oddly enough, at the same time as the three-day artistic competition opens, the Chinese state media reports that 2023 was also the hottest year on record in China. Hard to imagine in frosty Harbin right now.