At Harbin Ice-Snow World, the world's largest ice-and-snow theme park, veteran ice sculptor Zhang Hongyan is putting his finishing touches on 12 zodiac sculptures, infusing them with a unique charm that enhances the Chinese New Year atmosphere for visitors from around the world.

Since 1996, Zhang has devoted nearly three decades to the art of ice sculpting, witnessing firsthand the growth and transformation of Harbin's ice sculpting industry.

He said that as far as he can remember, Zhaolin Park in Harbin, the capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, is where China's ice lantern show originated and has been key to the development and promotion of the ice sculpture artistry.

In 1963, the first Harbin Ice Lantern Festival was held at the park, making it one of the world's earliest and largest outdoor ice lantern art exhibitions, Zhang said.

Since then, Harbin's ice sculptors have been using ice from the nearby Songhua River to create a wide range of ice art.

"Each ice sculpture undergoes several processes, including design, chainsaw cutting, and fine detailing with sharp tools. For beginners, it takes at least 10 years of learning and practice before they can create an ice sculpture independently," Zhang said.

Over the past 60 years, Harbin has nurtured generations of ice and snow sculptors. Thanks to their efforts, the techniques of ice sculpting, once considered a vanishing art, have flourished not only in China but also around the world.