Two million pounds of ice create a winter wonderland at the National Harbor

he Christmas season is in full swing at the National Harbor along the Potomac River in Maryland just outside Washington, where 2 million pounds (907,000 kilograms) of ice has been turned into a winter wonderland that this year pays homage to the iconic American children's TV special from 1964, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".

'The Most Famous Reindeer of All' is at the center of "ICE! Christmas on the Potomac" at the Gaylord National Resort -- where over 30 specialized Chinese sculptors have been flown in to pull off an enormous display of characters from the Disney film. It's part of an annual tradition at the hotel which erects a facility dedicated to the sculptures and an ice slide kept at a chilly 9 degrees (-13 celsius) -- perfect, organizers say, for carving and viewing ice sculptures.

Gaylord's Rachel Dinbokowitz says the tradition was originally inspired by China's Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, which features huge ice sculptures and draws visitors from all over China and the world to Harbin, one of the country's coldest places.

Harbin-trained Chinese ice sculptor Hu Pinghui is kept specifically on ICE! detail duty to carry out any touch-ups that might be needed by children touching and damaging the ice, which was carved over a month-long period using huge 400-pound cubes of ice that were trucked in before the opening on November 18. The attraction is unique to the area because it uses about 14 different colors of ice, Dinbokowitz says, to bring the characters to life.

Guests said they were astonished at the amount of time and detail it took to pull off the undertaking. But perhaps the biggest attraction for the kids are the enormous hand-carved ice slides, with parkas supplied by the hotel making a trip down the ice extra slick.

The hotel says planning for next year's installment of the attraction begins almost immediately after the Christmas season ends.

General admission tickets are $38 for adults and $31 for children. ICE! runs through January 1, 2018 before the Christmas magic is melted down until next year.