The ninth Harbin International Ice-assemblage Championship successfully concluded at Harbin Ice and Snow World in northeastern Heilongjiang province on Jan 4, according to the organizers.

The Harbin competition is one of the top three international cultural and art activities in the calendar  of the International Ice and Snow Federation.

The organizers said the federation is committed to promoting an overall improvement in the standards of ice and snow sculpture  through exchanges and communications.

The five-day contest attracted 15 teams from seven countries -- including China, Russia and India -- to test their sculpting skills on 10 five-meter long, 3.5-meter wide and 0.8-meter high ice blocks.

The organizers said the works aimed to show the tolerance and confluence of multiculturalism in the world from the perspective of philosophy, the humanities, as well as regional and national cultural influences.

After fierce competition, the ice sculpture Flying to Mars created by the Blagoveshchensk team from Russia won first prize. The team said their work sought to depict the spirit of human endeavor involved in the exploration and pursuit of space.

Second prizes were awarded to the work Black and White rendered by the Ulaanbaatar team from Mongolia and Secrets of the Sea by the Russian Amursk team.

Third prizes were won by the works Admiring the Moon, Changing the Shape and the Soul.

All the works will be displayed at Harbin Ice and Snow World for the entire winter.
  The top prize is awarded to a team from Russia at the ninth Harbin International Ice-assemblage Championship at Harbin Ice and Snow World on Jan 4. [Photo/chinanews.com]