Visitors on reindeer sleds explore the snowy landscapes of Genhe's Aoluguya Ewenki ethnic township in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [PHOTO BY XU LIN/CHINA DAILY]

Visitors to one of China's chilliest destinations can enjoy scalding hotpot in the open air and flavored ice for dessert.

Some bold male visitors strip down to their waists for photos in front of ice walls.

Lengjidian in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region's Genhe city holds the record for the country's lowest recorded temperature-that is, -58 C in 2009.

The National Climate Center recently issued a certificate to Genhe city as China's lengji ("the pole of cold" in Chinese), after an assessment by experts.

Its mountainous landscape is sheathed in snow, and trees are coated with rime.

The nearest village to Lengjidian is called Lengji, about 13 kilometers away from the "pole". It draws visitors who enjoy farm stays, local cuisine and dog sleds.

The settlement was a forestry-operated timberland until the commercial felling of trees was banned in 2015.

A huge thermometer announces the temperature near the village gate. Winters hover around-40 C.

Genhe's Aoluguya Ewenki ethnic township is home to China's only reindeer-herding tribe. The animals were their main mode of transport until the 1950s.

The roughly 300 members of the local Ewenki tribal branch raise about 1,200 of the deer.

China became the ninth country to join the Association of World Reindeer Herders when Aoluguya became a member in 2008.

Villagers were relocated outside of the forests to protect the woodlands and improve their livelihoods in 2003. Many work in the tourism industry. Some still raise reindeer.

Visitors can enjoy bonfire parties, watch reindeer-sled races and learn about the herding culture.