The 17th Harbin International Snow Sculpture Contest was held on January 10, 2012, attracting 25 groups of contestants from various countries and regions including China, Russia, Britain, Canada, Japan, Malaysia and the United States.
Being a part of the 28th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, this Snow Sculpture Contest will last four days. Four US artists from St. Paul, Minnesota said because of global warming it is too warm in their city to hold a snow sculpture competition, so they come to China to realize their dream.
Competitors from The United Arab Emirates are chefs in a five-star hotel. Most of the time, what they carve are carrots and potatoes. One of them said he is dreaming of carving a big snow block.