BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Every May and June, sand sculpture artists from around the world gather in Taiwan’s New Taipei City to create their masterpieces. The beautiful sculptures have become a huge attraction for tourists.

On a normal day, this quiet stretch of beach about a 1-hour train ride from Taipei is only a local attraction, with a few dozen visitors soaking in the sun or taking on some waves.

But every May and June, a spectacle of art literally rises out of the sand.

Sand sculpture artists from around the world converge on Fulong Beach in New Taipei City to participate in contest of patience, creativity, and back-breaking labor, where prizes and infamy are on the line.

Grab a handful of sand, and you can tell why Fulong is perfect for this. A mountain stream flows to the ocean at this beach, creating a rich, mineral-like sand that clumps tightly together you add a tiny bit of water.

Each artist gets 10 days to create their masterpiece, with this year’s theme being “Memories of Childhood.” What results is an ad hoc sculpture garden, with each piece containing the tiniest details that often tell a childhood story.

Joris Kivits, a Dutch sand sculpture artist, worked with three others to recreate the scene of a traditional public market in Taiwan. For him, keeping the sculpture from collapsing was quite challenging.

Joris Kivits, Sand Sculpture Artist, said, "If you go too deep, or if you make another cut too deep, so if you have a cut like this, it would stand. But if you have a cut like this, it can collapse. So you try to find the right balance for the sand, and that’s always tricky."

Sand sculptures are by no means a long-standing tradition in Fulong. Tourism officials for this area started this contest only six years ago. But within these six years, it’s become a huge hit in Taiwan. Last year, over 250,000 people flocked to this town to during the festival’s two-month run.

How Fulong accomplished this could be a lesson to many other small towns keen on gaining some international spotlight. Mr. Liu Shih-ming, the deputy director of Taiwan’s Northeast Coast scenic area, believes Fulong’s success is rooted in a respect for the environment, and using it to bring the community’s best foot forward.

Liu Shih-Ming, Deputy Director, Northeast and Yilan Coast Scenic Area, said, "These sand sculptures use our local sand, and after the event ends, it gets leveled back to the land. And so we use the land’s resources in natural way to boost tourism, art, and economic development in the area."

Artists also use a non-toxic and environmentally friendly glue to keep the sculptures intact, especially during Taiwan’s May rainy season.

After all, it’s just sand. And when all is said and done, nature will do its work, sending wind, rain, and waves to wash away this man made attraction until next year.

(Source: CNTV.cn)