In this Week in Photos, China’s Chang’e 4 lunar probe launches on a mission to the far side of the moon; revelers in Heilongjiang province prepare for the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival; and snow falls in various parts of the country.

× 1/7 Onlookers watch a flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Dec. 7, 2018. VCG 2/7 Tourists visit West Lake on a snowy day in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Dec. 8, 2018. Liu Pengpeng/VCG 3/7 ‘Talking Heads,’ a light installation by Hungarian artist Viktor Vicsek, sits on display on the waterfront in Hong Kong, Dec. 3, 2018. Jerome Favre/EPA/IC 4/7 A Long March 3B rocket carrying China’s Chang’e 4 robotic lunar probe blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center near Xichang, Sichuan province, Dec. 8, 2018. IC 5/7 A performer wears a traditional costume on the frozen Songhuajiang River during the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, Dec. 7, 2018. Zhang Tao/Getty Images/VCG 6/7 Men in China’s special operations forces undergo winter military training in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Dec. 3, 2018. VCG 7/7 Two men retrieve functioning bicycles from a so-called shared-bike graveyard in Hefei, Anhui province, Dec. 3, 2018. Li Feng/VCG