Ice sculptor aims to drive innovative inheritance of ice, snow carving

As the first snow blankets Harbin in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Zhang Xin, an associate professor at the Fine Art College of Harbin Normal University and ice sculptor, enters his busiest season.

In recent years, the Harbin Ice-Snow World, a renowned ice-and-snow theme park, has gone viral. Many popular ice sculptures in the park are created by artisans like Zhang.

As a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage of Heilongjiang, ice and snow carving is an art of subtraction. According to Zhang, the best time to appreciate ice sculptures in northeast China lasts no more than four months. "We need to respect and cherish nature," Zhang said.

Members of an ice sculpture team from the College of Art and Design of Daqing Normal University work on ice sculptures inspired by Terra-cotta Warriors at Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 4, 2025. A group of five ice "Terra-cotta Warriors" in different postures will soon make their debut at the Harbin Ice-Snow World. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

The millennium-old ice and snow carving techniques embody the wisdom and aesthetic preferences of people in northeast China, attracting an increasing number of admirers.

Zhang said Harbin Normal University's study tour base for ice and snow art has been packed almost every day during winter over the past two years, with visitors nationwide eager to experience ice and snow carving.

People in northeast China used to stay indoors during winter, and ice and snow seemed to restrict economic development, Zhang said. However, they have turned "cold resources" into a thriving economy, with ice carving, as a popular cultural symbol of the northeast region, driving the rapid development of winter tourism.

In recent months, Zhang has been considering how to innovate while preserving ice carving techniques.

He has noticed growing public curiosity about ice and snow carving, with photo-friendly ice sculptures incorporating cultural elements being more popular among tourists. For instance, cultural and creative products like ice sculpture lamps facilitate the integration of intangible cultural heritages into the booming cultural and tourism industries.

Zhang and his team are now creating replicas of bronze vessels and jade discs using natural ice, inspired by the current "museum fever."

"While ice and snow are nature's gifts, ice sculpture art is a cultural ambassador," Zhang said, hoping to inject vitality into the intangible cultural heritage by leveraging cultural resources and ice and snow resources while pursuing innovation.