A figure skater performs at the 2013 Changchun Ice and Snow Tourism Festival in Jingyuetan National Forest Park in Changchun, Jilin province, on Jan 2, 2013. [ZHANG YAO / CHINA NEWS SERVICE]

The snow-covered Taklimakan Desert in western China is seen in this NASA image taken with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite Jan 2, 2013. Snow has covered much of the desert since a storm blew through the area on Dec 26. [Photo/Agencies]