A river in northeast China awakened with sparkling ice floes as spring thaw unfolded.

Spectacular video filmed in Heihe City in Heilongjiang Province on April 23, shows the Heihe section of the Heilongjiang River on the China-Russia border gradually thawing, as temperatures rise with the warming weather,

The ice, which had sealed the river for months, slowly begins to melt and break apart, forming an impressive display of drifting ice floes, injecting vitality back into the once silent river.

The ice transforms into various sizes and shapes, clashing together like blossoming flowers on ice, creating a crisp, resonating sound. The fragmented ice shimmers translucently under the sunlight, sparkling like stars across the river's surface, making the Heihe River resemble a dreamlike "sea of diamonds".

This natural phenomenon, known as ice drifting, occurs annually in late April when the snow and ice of northeast China melt away. The ice on rivers like the Heilongjiang and the Songhua disintegrates, forming ice floes of differing sizes and shapes. These floes, driven by the river's current, majestically float downstream. Locals refer to this occurrence as "running ice floes".

The video was provided by local media with permission.

随着天气转暖，气温回升，中俄界江黑龙江黑河段逐渐解冻，冰封了一个冬季的黑龙江冰面逐步融化，出现“跑冰排”景观，沉寂了一个冬季的江面又展现了生机与活力。
江面上的冰层悄悄融化，渐渐脱裂，形成形态各异、大小不一的冰块，冰块撞击时如同冰上花开，声音清脆。碎冰晶莹剔透，在阳光的照射下闪着星星点点的光亮，黑河江面如同梦幻的“钻石海”，与蓝天白云互相映衬，构成了一幅绚丽多姿的春景图。
跑冰排是一种自然现象，每年的四月中下旬，东北大地冰雪消融，黑龙江、松花江等江河的冰层逐渐融化解体，形成大小不一、形态各异的冰块。这些冰块在水流的作用下浩浩荡荡顺江而下，当地人称这种现象为“跑冰排”。观看跑冰排的最佳地点是黑龙江省黑河市的黑龙江江段，这里江面宽阔，水流湍急，冰块可以肆意地碰撞、翻滚。跑冰排时，冰块相互撞击发出的声音不绝于耳，犹如千军万马浩浩荡荡而来，场面蔚为壮观，形成一道独特的北国景观。