That’s snow ugly! Chinese compete for season’s ugliest snowman as big freeze hits mainland

They’re usually built to look cute and cuddly - occasionally accessorised with a fashionable hat and scarf.

But perhaps predictably, when parts of mainland China were hit by their coldest weather in decades, locals ignored the conventional snowman design and instead attempted to design the ugliest one possible.

READ MORE: Cold wave across China puts mainlanders’ Lunar New Year travel plans on ice

Social media site Weibo was flooded with photographs of bizarre and oddly-shaped snowmen.

Some had blackened faces with just one eye, while others had receding hairlines.

One snowman was seen donning a cooking pot as a hat, while a broom was used as a makeshift arm.

And scores of snowmen lining the mainland’s streets were simply obese.