The red lantern is the classic emblem of China.
红灯笼是经典的中国象征
In ancient times, they were used to mark the entrances of houses,
在古时候,灯笼被用来标志房屋入口
and they soon became a sign of joy and festivity.
不久便成为了欢乐和节庆的标志
At Chinese New Year, lanterns represent the light of hope.
在中国新年里,灯笼代表了希望之光
Back in the 1960s,
上世纪60年代
the people of Harbin couldn't afford traditional lanterns to celebrate New Year,
哈尔滨人民买不起传统的灯笼来庆祝春节
so they froze water in buckets, but candles inside,
所以他们拿水桶冻冰,里面点上蜡烛
and the ice festival was born.
冰节就此诞生
Using light as a symbol of celebration has continued through to the modern festival today.
而光作为节庆象征则延续到了现代的节日中
Almost every one of over 2000 buildings here has its own light display.
这里的2000多座冰雕,几乎座座都有灯光装饰
The lighting design is almost as epic and endeavour as building the festival itself.
灯光的设计几乎和组织冰雪节一样,恢弘壮丽,精益求精
The logistics involved in making this happen are staggering.
这一切的实现离不开非凡的物流
The sheer scale of the operation means the festival needs 230,000 meters of electrical cables.
这是场规模庞大的运作,整个节日用了23万米的电线
That is 13.8 million individual lights.
大大小小共有1380万颗灯
But creating such a vast electrical system
但建造如此庞大的电力系统
demands meticulous attention to detail to withstand such extreme conditions.
需要对细节的一丝不苟,才可应付如此极端的情况
And this is how they do it.
而他们是这么做的
The lights are actually individual LEDs housed within a resilient silicon strip.
灯光都是独立的LED灯,外面覆有弹性硅钢薄带
These aren't your standard household LEDs.
这些可不是家里日常用的LED灯
A team of engineers have specifically designed ones to withstand the freezing temperatures.
这是专门的工程师团队针对低温而特别设计的
It is more expensive than a conventional light bulb,
虽然比普通的灯要贵
but it is more eco-friendly,
但也更为环保
plus can you imagine the bill to pay the electricity at this place?
而且你知道这地方的电费得有多贵吗?
Each block of ice is hand chiselled to create a groove for the LED strip.
每个冰块都有手工凿出的放置LED灯的沟槽
The blocks are then lined up in a brick wall pattern.
然后冰块在冰墙上摆好和发光
The great thing about LEDs is they emit less heat
LED灯的一大好处就是它发热较低
and what you don't want in an ice block is the block melting.
你也不希望冰块被融化掉吧
Now you need to join the bricks together.
现在要把冰块堆到一起了
Traditionally, especially in your home, you would use something like cement,
传统上,尤其是在人们家里,一般都用水泥之类的来粘合砖块
but here in Harbin they use something completely different.
但在哈尔滨这里可就不一样了
Water. I kept it in my coat to try and keep it liquid.
水。我把它放衣服里,免得它冻住了
Very simply pour the water on
很简单地把水撒上
and I literally only have a few seconds to get the next brick on top before the water freezes.
然后必须在几秒内把下一块砖放上去,不然水就要结冰了
The idea is that the two fuse together and it becomes a solid structure.
我们要的是让两块冰融合在一起,变成坚固的大冰块
A bit more Harbin cement.
再来点哈尔滨“水”泥
Now, the moment of truth.
见证真面貌的时候到了
I will put some batteries to my LEDs and,
我会给我的LED灯加上电池
in theory, I will be able to illuminate this beautiful piece of work.
理论上,我将会点亮这一美丽之作
Of course, there is a slightly bigger switch box for the main event.
当然了,主展品会有更大点的开关箱
Each individual light is painstakingly turned on by hand,
每个灯都需要费心地手动开启
row by row, building by building, and I get to turn on the very last building.
一排排,一栋栋地点亮,我要来点亮最后一座冰雕
Which switch is it? This one here?
开关在哪?哪个是开关?
Three, two, OK!
三,二,开始
There it is, a little bit of Russia in the middle of China.
看到没,中国风里夹杂着些许俄罗斯风格