Penguins enjoy the outdoors at China's Harbin festival

<p>Penguins from Harbin Polarland, an arctic-themed aquarium in the north-eastern Chinese city, were brought to a nearby outdoor enclosure on Sunday for a promotional event during the city&#39;s annual Ice Festival.</p><p><img src="https://imedia-peoplesdaily.pdnews.cn/up/cms/www/201901/07141930i14h.jpg" title="VCG125505350_00003.jpg" alt="VCG125505350_00003.jpg"/></p><p><span style="color: rgb(127, 127, 127);">Video source: VCG</span></p><p>With temperatures at around minus 15 degrees centigrade, 6 Gentoo penguins were released for 15 minutes into the outdoor enclosure. There, they walked and slid on snow and ice for the benefit of visitors, before returning to their indoor homes where the temperature is a little warmer at just below freezing.</p><p>A representative from Harbin Polarland told Reuters that this event was a form of training for the penguins and enabled them to experience nature.&nbsp;</p><p>Polarland has organized similar outdoor forays for penguins in the past and the aquarium plans to do so again during this year&#39;s Ice Festival.</p><p>The festival, which began on Saturday, has drawn millions of visitors from around the world every year since its inception in the early 1980s.&nbsp;</p><p>Highlights of the festival this year include sled rides on the Songhua river, mass weddings, and towering sculptures of ice and snow carved by thousands of artists and workers.&nbsp;</p><p>Six Gentoo penguins are allowed to roam freely for 15 minutes in an outdoor enclosure in Harbin&#39;s annual ice festival, with temperatures at around minus 15 degrees celsius.&nbsp;</p>