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Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China – 6 January 2020
1. Various aerial shots of Harbin Ice and Snow Park ++MUTE++
2. Various of aerial shots of Harbin Ice Sculpture Competition area++MUTE++
3. Various of Ice Sculpture Competition area
4. Close of ice block
5. American ice sculptor Roger Wing cutting ice block
6. Close of chainsaw cutting ice
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Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China – 7 January 2020
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Roger Wing, American ice sculptor
"It's incredible ice culture. It's been a dream of mine for more than twenty years to come to Harbin. And to see it is even more unbelievable in person."
8. Various of Wing flattening ice
9. Various of Wing's partner Anssi Kuosa carving ice
10. Various of Wing polishing ice with iron
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Roger Wing, American ice sculptor:
"Twenty years ago, there was only one or two carvers who are making figures, because it was very difficult to create human anatomy, human faces, human hands. Only one or two artists were very good at this twenty years ago. But now we have all learned the techniques to get stronger and now many carvers can do beautiful figures."
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Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China – 6 January 2020
12. Clay sculpture with sketch next to it
13. Close of clay sculpture of a flying apsaras
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Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China – 7 January 2020
14. Various of Chinese sculptor Zhu Rui carving ice
15. Various of Chinese sculptor Wang Songyin carving ice
16. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Zhu Rui, Chinese sculptor:
"The biggest challenges are the connection of human body parts, the shape of each part and their relationship, the texture of skin and clothes details. (It's difficult) to find the balance point between power and beauty."
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Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China – 6 January 2020
17. Wide of two sculptors carving ice
18. Sculptor pushing off a piece of ice
19. Various of South Korean sculptor carving ice
20. Various of Serbian sculptor carving ice
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Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China – 7 January 2020
21. Wide of clay sculpture and Russian sculptors
22. Russian sculptor carving ice
23. Russian sculptors talking
24. Close of drill
25. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Luibov Polina, Russian sculptor
"Ice is a beautiful material. We can create beauty with ice. I like ice carving also because my husband is a professional ice sculptor."
26. Various of Russian sculptors carving and polishing
27. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vadim Polin, Russian sculptor
"Our work is a Chinese dragon and a Russian girl. It represents the friendship between the two countries. It's a new world by combining them together."
28. Wide of snow and ice sculpture
29. Mid of ice bear
30. Various of Mongolian sculptors
31. Various of ice sculpture made by Mongolian team
32. Various of Chinese sculptors melting and rounding ice ball
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Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China – 6 January 2020
33. Various of Harbin Ice Sculpture Competition
LEADIN:
In the freezing conditions of north east China, ice sculptors have been racing against the clock to create and shape their designs.
They're been competing in the Harbin international ice sculpting competition involving 60 sculptors from countries around the world.
In the dark depths of winter in the northernmost province of China, the hum of chainsaws, drills, and grinders can be heard.
Here, ice artists from around the world are braving some of the coldest temperatures to compete in the 34th Harbin Ice Sculpture Competition in Harbin.
Carving began on Monday (Jan 6 2020) and competitors had until yesterday to finish their work before judging.
This year, 60 ice carvers from China, the US, Russia, and other countries are taking part.
This event requires entrants to carve their design from ice blocks taken from Songhua River, a major branch in Heilongjiang Province.
Located on the border between China and Russia, Heilongjiang has an average temperature of -15 Celsius during its long winter and is famous among sculptors for the purity of its ice.
"It's incredible ice culture. It's been a dream of mine for more than twenty years to come to Harbin. And to see it is even more unbelievable in person," explains Roger Wing, an ice and wood sculptor from the US.
This is Wing's first time taking part in the Harbin Ice sculpture competition and he has teamed up with Finnish artist, Anssi Kuosa.
In their artwork they hope to convey the philosophical idea of beauty and age: a witch looking into a magical mirror seeing a beautiful face.
Wing flattens the ice block with a nail plate then irons it to create a transparent effect.
He thinks ice is the best material to tell the story, because it has very similar qualities as glass.
Being in the industry for over twenty years, Wing has first hand experience of how carving tools and techniques have improved greatly.
"Twenty years ago, there was only one or two carvers who are making figures, because it was very difficult to create human faces, human hands. Only one or two artists were very good at this twenty years ago. But now we have all learned the techniques to get stronger and now many carvers can do beautiful figures."
Chinese sculptor, Zhu Rui, and his partner initially began ice carving as a hobby but went professional five years ago.
And today they are creating a flying apsaras flying around the moon - influenced by Chinese dance and culture.
The flying apsaras are believed to be the images of beautiful heavenly gods based on frescos in northwestern China's Dunhuang.
They are often depicted as elegant females dancing or playing instruments.
"The biggest challenges are the connection of human body parts, the shape of each part and their relationship, the texture of skin and clothes details. (It's difficult) to find the balance point between power and beauty," explains Zhu.
Zhu has titled the sculpture: "The moon in my home village is exceptionally brighter". The moon is considered a symbol of family reunion in Chinese tradition.
And for Russian couple Vadim Polin and Luibov Polina their reasons for being at Harbin goes beyond ice.
"Ice is a beautiful material. We can create beauty with ice. I like ice carving also because my husband is a professional ice sculptor," says Luibov Polina.
Together they are caving a Russian girl being lift up by a Chinese dragon.
"It represents the friendship between the two countries. It's a new world by combining them together," explains Vadim Polin.
Extreme care is taken to add minute details to each work, which can involve hundreds of pieces of ice.
After being judged, they will be on display at the Harbin Ice and Snow Park for two months.
(CLIENTS PLEASE NOTE: THIS STORY FIRST RAN 7 JANUARY 2020. )
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