HARD WORKING: Sun Hongyan clears ice sliding board at the ICIUM—Wonderworld of Ice in Levi, Finland, on December 18 (CHEN RAN)

It took Sun two days, almost twice as long as in China, to finish a 2-meter-high elephant snow relief inside the entrance gate. The secrets to overcoming technical difficulties come from professional experience, said Sun.

Based in his hometown of Harbin, Sun, 41, has been working for the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival since 1995 and has participated in other sculpture-related events across China. He has also traveled to Germany, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, and South Africa for exhibitions as well as competitions.

In addition to a shortage of raw materials, the team was also unfamiliar with the Arctic—no one in the team had ever been there before. Not surprisingly, it took time to get used to the climate. At this time of year, the area has no more than five hours of "gray light" every day, with a low temperature of nearly minus 30 degrees Celsius.

Sun said the group worked from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, but no one complained since their ultimate goal was to finish the project on time. A Chinese chef was recruited to provide catering services.

A CLOSER LOOK: Suvi Linden (second left), Finnish Minister of Communications, and Huang Xing (middle), Chinese Ambassador to Finland, watch sculptors working on ice (CHEN RAN)

"I was truly proud of my team, and appreciated the assistance of the local people," Ma said. "Otherwise, we could not display the Chinese art of ice and snow sculpture to visitors here."

Neil Metheringham came all the way from England's Nottinghamshire with his wife Monica to attend a nephew's wedding ceremony in the area. The couple saw the park's colorful lighting from their hotel room and decided to take a closer look.

"The park and its sculptures are lovely," Metheringham said. "Monica saw these in a smaller scale in Kent many years ago, but I've never seen these before. Maybe we could see bigger ones in Harbin one day."

Ma said some sculptors returned to China after finishing their work, even before the park had opened. However, Ma said his team would create new works during the following five months to help meet visitors' demands.

In addition to ice and snow sculptures, Chinese folk artists have also created examples of traditional Chinese crafts, such as Peking Opera-style make-up.

Looking ahead

"The panda Ming Ming's adventure is basically a reflection of my own story," said Zhao Yinong, Managing Director of the Futuvision Group, one of the park's sponsors.

Born in Beijing in the 1960s, Zhao has lived in Finland for more than 20 years. He went to Finland to study politics before becoming a teacher himself. Zhao said he has learned a lot from both Chinese and Finnish culture and wanted to do something to enhance cultural exchange between the two countries.

Zhao said he also used to organize the Chinese-Nordic cultural festival, which was popular among local communities. From a commercial standpoint, however, the festival was a failure, said Zhao.

Despite the financial risk, Zhao still believes that his ICIUM—Wonderworld of Ice project is worthwhile.

"I hope the park can serve as a bridge to bring people together because cultural exchange is really important," he said.

Huang Xing, Chinese Ambassador to Finland, echoed Zhao's view, saying exchanges between China and Finland should not be limited to the state level; people-to-people exchanges are also important.

Zhao has already put his sights on the future. "My goal is to make the project an annual event, making Chinese culture more accessible."

(Reporting from Levi, Finland)