Stunning frozen methane bubbles and frost flowers were spotted in a lake in northwestern China.

Video filmed in Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on December 26, 2022, shows ice crystals appearing on the frozen Sayram Lake and several white circular disks piling up on each other.

According to the filmer named Li Linhai, Sayram Lake's temperature was -18 degrees Celsius.

The stunning scene appears around January every year due to the cold weather and it will last for three months until April if there is no snow.

The methane gas released from the decaying plants on the lake bed creates bubbles which are then trapped within the ice and freeze into circular disk shapes.

The ice crystals which are called frost flowers form when thin layers of ice are extruded from long-stemmed plants in autumn or early winter.

The video was provided by Li Linhai.

近日，新疆博尔塔拉蒙古自治州。赛里木湖出现大面积的冰泡和冰花。放眼望去，在湛蓝的冰面下冰封着无数冰泡，像是无数金莲花镶进了蓝宝石，好似星星点灯。除了冰泡，冰封的湖面上仿佛盛开成千上万多洁白的花朵，绝美而壮观。
视频拍摄者李林海介绍，这是在零下18度的气温下拍摄的赛里木湖视频，每年的1月份前后因为气温寒冷，湖里都会出现这样的场景，只要不下雪，这种景观会一直保持到第二年的4月份。
冰泡，即冰冻气泡，由于微生物降解、气压原因，水中常会产生一些气泡，在气温急剧下降过程中，水温骤降，气泡在上升过程中，无法到达水面冒出，悬浮在水中，随着水温的持续下降，湖水凝固成冰，水泡也因此被凝固在冰中，形成了独特的冰泡奇观。由于赛里木湖湖面湛蓝幽静，冰泡显得特别新奇而美丽。
而当有的喷发过程遇冷凝结成冰凌，“冰泡”由于冰冻挤压短时间喷发而出时，水气就会在冰面上凝结成精美的“冰花”。视频由李林海提供。