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The cold river shimmers with morning mist, the sky shimmers with ice, trees covered in clouds of frost and blossoms. Last night, thousands of strands of flying jade flew by, but who cut them into strips of clear snow? Glistening ice feathers, gracefully dressed in colorful clothes, ready to dance on the high, cold palace. The misty waves reflect my reflection, with whom do I yearn for a date?
Rime, neither ice nor snow
When the temperature is below zero degrees Celsius, the water mist in the air that has not yet frozen will continue to accumulate and freeze on objects such as tree branches with the same extremely low temperature, and eventually condense into white loose ice crystals.
Rime comes in two main forms: hard, granular ice and softer, and the formation of both is closely related to the temperature. Its beauty and rarity make it a "gift from heaven."
The conditions for the formation of rime are extremely harsh. The first requirement is that the temperature is at least below zero degrees, which requires that the viewing area of rime has a cold and long winter; the second is that there is sufficient water vapor in the air. The higher the air humidity and the more water vapor, the easier it is for rime to form; finally, the obvious temperature difference between day and night caused by low wind speed and radiation cooling is also an important condition conducive to the formation of rime.
There are many scenic spots across the country where you can see rime flowers, but there are very few places worth watching rime flowers. Today, I will show you these beautiful destinations where you can take unique scenic photos.
Location: Wula Street Manchu Town, Longtan District, Jilin City, Jilin Province
Best viewing season: from late December to the end of February
Wusong Island is a small island in the Songhua River. Compared with the villages along the island, the rime here is the most concentrated, and it is also a good place to capture the unique winter scenery.
Every winter, due to its low terrain and the surrounding river, rising mist shrouds Wusong Island. When it touches the branches of the island, it forms frost flowers. The weeping willows along the river, covered with ice crystals and rime, gleam silver in the cold air. From a distance, they resemble the legendary jade trees and white flowers, a breathtaking beauty.
Location: On the banks of the Kulbin River, Kulbin County, Heihe City, Heilongjiang Province
Best viewing season: Late December to March
Kulbin is arguably the newest destination for rime photography. The rime lasts for four months, lingering for up to 10 hours daily. Every winter, the mist from the Kulbin waters merges with the cold air, creating a 15-kilometer-long rime forest along the coast, a spectacular fairytale-like spectacle. As long as there's no wind or snow, this dreamlike rime scenery can be seen every day, making for a highly photographic experience.
Moreover, compared to the famous Rime Island, Kulbin is also a niche destination for viewing rime. Every morning, the rime along the coast decorates this place like a fairyland with colorful mist.
Geographical location: Located in the northwest of Xing'an League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, across the southwestern foothills of Daxing'anling
Best viewing season: January to February each year
The winter in Inner Mongolia is very long, and it is covered with ice and snow for nearly seven months each year.
As you drive through the area, you can enjoy the amazing rime scenery that stretches for more than 50 kilometers. The frost is cold and the birch trees are clean, which is cool and charming. The scenery is spectacular.
The rime in Arshan and the rime on Rime Island are two different kinds of scenery. Due to the tree species in the forest park, they are basically towering trees, mainly pines and cypresses, which add a lot of color to the rime.
Geographical location: On the banks of the Songhua River in Jilin City
Best viewing season: 7-10 am from January to February every year
If you are lucky, you can come across the beautiful scenery of the Rime Corridor while driving along the Songhua River. This can be said to be the most "people-friendly" rime!
In Jilin, there is a "three-stage" way to view rime, namely: watch the clouds on the river in the evening, watch the icicles on the trees on both sides in the morning, and watch the fallen flowers all over the ground in the afternoon.
This is because every winter, the Songhua River flows for dozens of kilometers but never freezes. At night, the thick fog shrouds the river, and you can enjoy the clouds and mist on the river; in the early morning, the mist rises, and you can enjoy the spectacular sight of rime; at noon, ice crystals fall to the ground, and you can enjoy the crystal beauty like falling flowers.
Location: Burqin County, Altay, Xinjiang
Best viewing season: Rime can be seen all year round, but conditions such as low temperature and sufficient moisture in the air are required.
Every year in deep winter, Kanas Lake looks like a natural mirror. When strolling along the lakeside, you don’t even need to look for a camera, because the surrounding birch forests are already covered with crystal rime. Even the freezing temperature cannot hide their tall and magnificent figures.
The tranquil birch forest, combined with the scattered cabins, creates an icy wonderland that can only be seen in the deep winter, and every spot is suitable for taking perfect blockbuster photos.
If you want to venture deep into the Kanas River Valley to find rime flowers, you'll need some luck. Here, the rime flowers typically only last for three to four hours. However, if you're lucky enough to see one, it's a truly unique and magnificent experience.
Location: Yingtamu Township, Yining County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Best viewing season: early December to early March of the following year, when conditions such as low temperature and sufficient moisture are met
In winter, the sky at Swan Spring is as clear as blue, and the swans on the lake stretch their necks and spread their wings like elves, showing a natural wonder of infinite vitality together with the wild ducks and other birds here.
Looking around, there are snow-capped mountains behind you, slender reeds swaying in the wind in front of you, water vapor rising from the lake, and willow branches by the lake covered with rime. The swans and rime complement each other, creating an ethereal and dreamy, beautiful scene like a fairyland.
Best viewing season: late December to February of the following year
The Qinling Mountains in winter are a romantic place full of wind, flowers, snow and moon.
The winter in the Qinling Mountains is full of silence and desolation. After the heavy snow, the silent and old Qinling Mountains will be filled with the shocking wonders of rime. Pine and cypress forests are covered with white snow, and thick rime condenses on the trees on the top of the mountain. The ice waterfalls, icicles, hot springs and cool snow are so beautiful that they seem out of this world.
Looking around, you can see "trees covered with rime flowers, and the whole mountain is covered in silver." The crystal clear, light and white rime flowers are like jade trees and white flowers, graceful and elegant.
Located in Zhuque National Forest Park in the south of Huxian County, Xi'an City, it has an altitude of 3,015.1 meters. It is the highest peak in the Qinling Mountains east of Taibai Mountain and also the highest peak in Huxian County.
It is the main ridge of the middle section of the Qinling Mountains and the watershed between the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. Its highest altitude is 2,964.6 meters.
Dongliang is located in the deep mountains with large areas of virgin forest. Every winter from January to February, the mountains are covered with rime, which dyes the entire mountain range white, creating a spectacular scene.
It is the western peak of Jiawutai in the Qinling Mountains and is also the highest peak of Jiawutai in the true sense.
The road leading to Xuewa Mountain is rarely traveled, and it is quite dangerous and steep, so you need to be more careful. Xuewa Mountain is not well-known, but the scenery is very magnificent and beautiful. It is definitely a good place to go in winter. The top of the mountain is more than 1,900 meters above sea level, and the elevation from the climbing point to here is nearly 1,500 meters, so this mountain is very majestic.
Location: Pai Town, Milin County, Nyingchi City, Tibet Autonomous Region
Best viewing season: January to the end of February
The temperature in Tibet dropped later this winter than in previous years. From January to March, the hot and cold air in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin intersected, and the water vapor condensed into crystal rime, eventually forming a silver-clad Tibetan land. The Yarlung Zangbo River runs across southern Tibet from west to east, with rich hydropower reserves. The river and the canyon are accompanied, so it is easier to form the spectacle of rime.
The long river bank is covered with silver and jade. The best time to see hoarfrost is in the morning, but it usually lasts for a short time. You can see beautiful hoarfrost hanging on the trees before the sun comes out. In the afternoon, as the temperature rises and the wind gets stronger, the hoarfrost will gradually dissipate.
Vast swathes of forest are blanketed in a blanket of white snow, and thick rime condenses on the trees, creating a scene resembling blooming ice flowers. Even the freezing temperatures can't conceal their majestic and upright forms, making this a truly remarkable winter spectacle, its beauty unearthly. Don your warm coat and head out to discover this breathtaking winter wonder!
