Every year in Fairbanks, Alaska, the World Ice Art Championships takes place, and it is no cute little side hobby. Praised as one of the world’s largest ice sculpting competitions and exhibitions, the World Ice Art Championships has grown into a month-long event featuring more than 70 teams from around the world. The works are stunning and often massive in both size and visual appeal.

Juri Mitomi, 20, holds a cigarette after a Coming of Age Day celebration ceremony at an amusement park in Tokyo January 12, 2015. According to a government announcement, more than 1.2 million men and women who were born in 1994 marked the coming of age this year, an increase of approximately 50,000 from last year. The increase is also the first since 1995. (Photo by Yuya Shino/Reuters)

Iceland is known as the land of fire and ice and these images capture the essence of that perfectly. Incredible ever-changing landscapes demonstrate the contrast between the freezing ice and burning skies that dominate Iceland's beauty. The stunning pictures taken by photographer Lurie Belegurschi show the breathtaking and utterly unique ice plains formed in sub-zero temperatures. (Photo by Lurie Belegurschi/Caters News)

A female swimmer reacts after finishing the competition in a pool carved from thick ice covering the Songhua River during the Harbin Ice Swimming Competition in the northern city of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, January 5, 2016. The swimming competition was held on the official launch day of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

A reindeer is seen as people visit ice sculptures illuminated by coloured lights at the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival to celebrate the new year in Harbin on January 4, 2017. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP Photo)

Canada's Yuri Nazarkin carves Star Wars character C-3PO (R) and R2-D2 for the ice sculpture festival in Liege, Belgium, November 13, 2015. (Photo by Eric Vidal/Reuters)

19 individually themed and hand crafted art suites have been newly designed by creatives from across the world – from a swedish artist who made a giant snow elephant in the room, to a french team who fused snow, ice and disco into a groovy sleeping experience. Each year, the hotel creates a new series of artist-designed accommodation spaces that add to the existing landscape of private rooms. (Photo by Icehotel.com/Exclusivepix Media)