Winter Finally Arrives

Although much of the U.S. and Europe has had a largely snowless winter to date, the temperature has finally started to feel seasonal and snowfall will certainly follow. Other parts of the northern hemisphere have been experiencing more wintry weather, such as Harbin, China, which opens its famous Ice Festival tomorrow, January 5. 

From the Far East to the Mississippi River, from Moscow to Stonehenge, here are some recent chilly scenes from around the world.

A horse carriage carrying tourists travels past ice sculptures during a lighting test for the the 13th Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin, China, on December 25, 2011. The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival will be officially launched on January 5, 2012. (Reuters/Sheng Li) 

A leaf, covered in frost on November 13, 2011 at the "Planten un Blomen" park in Hamburg, Germany. (Christian Charisius/AFP/Getty Images)  

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World Chocolate Wonderland

Dubbed the world's first chocolate theme park," World Chocolate Wonderland (世界巧克力梦公园) will showcase more than 200 chocolate art pieces over 3,500 square meters in Shanghai's Himalaya Art Museum from December 16 to February 19, 2012.

Shanghai is the second stop for the traveling chocolate spectacular. Its debut show was held in Beijing in Janurary 2010, which ran for 73 days and attracted almost half a million visitors. The awe-inspiring chocolate exhibits drew inspiration from various cultures around the globe.

Signature pieces include Bumblebee from Transformers, Shanghai's Huangpu River (imagine that with chocolate), the Bund's architecture, Terracotta Warriors and LV handbags.

However, the organizer did not disclose exactly how many chocolatiers were involved in the production of the exhibits or who they are. All we know is these items were made by dozens of chocolate masters.

Besides chocolate art pieces, the indoor theme park will also invite chocolatiers to make different kinds of chocolate on the spot, from milk chocolate to truffle chocolate, or even wine chocolate. Visitors will also have an opportunity to make their own mix of cocoa, milk and sugar under the instruction of professionals.

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This Is Completely Insane Dude

While some people would find it unbearable to go anywhere near the edge of a cliff, these Chinese workers are building a 3ft-wide road made of wooden planks on the face of a mountain that's thousands of feet high. Once finished, it is hoped sightseers will flock to here to edge along and admire the views.

The 'road' - the width of a dinner table - they're assembling is on Shifou Mountain in Hunan Province and stands vertical at 90 degrees without any slopes or alcoves. What's more, these workers from China's eastern Jiangxi Province toil away on it with what appear to be few if any safety measures.

I always admire the Chinese, they can built anything out of nothing.

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Compilation Of Best Panda Photos 2011

This is the cutest compilation. Collection of Panda photos that make the news in 2011.

Female giant panda Shin Shin eats bamboo at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo in April. (Getty Images / YOSHIKAZU TSUNO)

Giant panda cubs lie on a log at the Chengdu Research Base in China. (Reuters / CHINA DAILY)

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How To Demolished Building In China

While the story behind the demolition of this apartment is quiet interesting, I was more interested in knowing how the hell they manage to get two excavators up there? I believe there might be three possibilities. 1 - They use crane to lift the excavator up. 2 - They dismantle the excavators into pieces and assemble it back. 3 - They actually store the excavators from the beginning. Chinese is great. Hohoohooohoho...

Excavators dismantle Chinese highrise from the top down. This 18-story residential tower in Taizhou, Zheijiang Province. The building was completed in January and was hailed as a luxury development with a 'perfect' ocean view. But months later it was found to be leaning.

Experts have suggested the ground beneath the highrise sank because the reclaimed land it was built on is unable to support such large buildings. Hu Zhizhong, an architectural researcher at Taizhou University, said reclaimed land commonly 'settles unevenly', but the sinking in this building was so severe that it could be that the land is simply unsuitable.

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China’s Invisible Man

The artist, Liu Bolin is a young Beijing based artist who has exhibited primarily in China until now. Recently, he finished up a show at Eli Klein fine art in New York showcasing a variety of his pieces including some form the series camouflage. The collection is an exploration of human nature and animal instincts which features Chinese citizens painted to blend into their surroundings.

Liu appears practically invisible to untrained eye. No matter which of his works are your favorite though, it's hard to deny the skill necessary to produce these.

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Lady Gaga's Bad Romance Cover By Chinese Elderly

The most bizarre cover I've ever seen. On China's most popular satellite channel Hunan TV, playing to an audience of hundreds of millions of Chinese people worldwide, a group of retired senior citizens (over)cheerfully beat out a version of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance in Changsha's local dialect, accompanied by miniskirted Chinese musicians playing glass traditional Chinese instruments.

Chinese senior citizen style and flair to Gaga's slamming track, proving that you're never too old to rock the party.

Super Fast Chinese Cake Lady

This Chinese lady works at a bakery and works faster than the speed of light when it comes to getting cakes to her customers. The cake might be very tasty because judging from the video, there are tons of people in the line waiting for their order.