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Chinese ice carvers create SpongeBob SquarePants to entertain visitors in Texas

Xinhua, November 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

More than 60 ice sculptures made by Chinese carvers went on display in the southern Texas city of Galveston on Friday as part of the efforts by Moody Gardens, an educational tourist destination in the city, to attract more visitors in the coming months.

It took about 45 days for the 31 professional carvers from Harbin, provincial capital of northern China's Heilongjiang Province, to transform 2 million pounds of ice into majestic marvels ranging from holiday-themed sculpture to a wide range of scenes featuring the beloved underwater characters from SpongeBob SquarePants.

Like other Chinese carvers, Fan Yongqiang voiced his satisfaction with the sculptures, saying that although they faced with challenges and difficulties, they really liked their jobs, which enabled them to show foreigners their ice-carving skills and let them know China better.

Lu Kunxiong, president of Creative Arts & Attractions, the organization in charge of the Chinese ice carvers, said that this is the second year since they partnered with Moody Gardens and that their cooperation has been really successful.

Being the only holiday ice exhibition in the Gulf Coast region, these ice creations are accompanied by enriched programs, Lu said, adding that it is the first time that they sculpt with glowing ice here, which resulted in 42 different colors.

John Zendt, president and CEO of Moody Gardens, praised the Chinese ice carvers for their hard work and wonderful ice sculptures.

"Their work is incredible. They are true artists. They work very hard under cold temperatures," he said.

The sculptures are housed inside a 28,000 square feet tent and kept at a chilly temperature of minus 13 degree celsius throughout the holiday season.

It would take 43 truckloads to transport the 7,060 ice blocks from Downtown Houston to Moody Gardens.

If the ice blocks are lined up horizontally, they would stretch about 7 km. When piled up vertically, they would form a stack taller than 16 Empire State Buildings put together.

The ice-themed event will end on Jan. 10, 2016. Endi