Preparations for the 38th Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo are entering their final construction stage in Harbin, the capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, with 70 percent of the work completed.
Covering an area of 1.5 million square meters, this year's expo will feature more than 260 snow sculptures.
All sculptures are expected to be completed by late December.
At the entrance of the expo stands "Mr. Snowman," an iconic snow sculpture towering 23.8 meters high and crafted from 5,000 cubic meters of snow. Inside the park, visitors are welcomed by two charming panda snow sculptures representing Zhi Shi and Zhi Ma, the pair of giant pandas that made Sun Island their home in August this year.
With the upcoming lunar year being the Year of the Horse, horses have become especially popular at this year's expo.
Another unique feature of this year's expo is the broadcasting studio of China Media Group (CMG). This marks the second consecutive year that CMG has established a studio at the expo.
In about a week, the expo will officially open its doors to visitors, offering an experience of the romance and joy of winter in this stunning frozen wonderland.
Preparation for 38th int’l snow sculpture art expo enters final stage in Harbin
Officials and scholars discussed how to use emerging technologies to help better protect cultural and natural heritage while supporting sustainable development, at a dialogue event held in an east China city on Sunday.
The fifth Huangshan Dialogue on UNESCO-designated Sites and Sustainable Development opened in Huangshan City, Anhui Province on Sunday.
The dialogue has been included as an international conference under the United Nations' International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development framework from 2024 to 2033.
Representatives from UNESCO and local authorities discussed how digital technologies can help better protect cultural and natural heritage.
"We have been advancing AI applications in culture and tourism. Intelligent hiking assistance devices have completed public testing and are moving toward commercial use. Through digital technologies, we are bringing new vitality to precious heritage," He Yi, mayor of Huangshan City, said at the event.
Supported by the International Center on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage under UNESCO, Huangshan has kept conducting research in climate change response, endangered species protection, and ecosystem monitoring through remote sensing technologies.
"We should deepen innovation in digital technologies for heritage conservation, strengthen intelligent monitoring and risk prevention, develop specialized technologies and equipment, and work toward international standards," said Guo Huadong, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of UNESCO's world heritage center, also hailed the important role of new technologies in heritage protection.
"These technologies are not only helping us generate new global knowledge to better understand the state, contribution and resilience of UNESCO-designated sites. They are also providing increasingly powerful tools to improve management on the ground," he said during the dialogue via video link.
So far, Huangshan has established a Protection, Management and Command Center for the scenic area, serving as the hub for digital operations and emergency coordination.
Officials, scholars discuss strengthening heritage protection through digital technology
