It was clear this week which side 35 students from 14 universities fell as they crafted their creations for China's first national sand sculpture competition for university students, according to today's China Daily.

The contest, taking place on Nansha Beach in Zhoushan, a coastal city in East China's Zhejiang Province, brought out novices who had never tried or even heard of such an activity.

"I love the work, for it is something that connects painting with sculpture and physical culture with teamwork," said Zhou Zhedong, a freshman from Zhejiang Academy of Oceanography.

Zhou, sporting a handsome tan, worked with two teammates to create a flock of seagulls above three girls who are surrounded by water.

"This illustrates our deep love for the sea," he said.

The contest reminded Zhou of the beauty and importance of nature.

"I am not an art major, but studying at the academy of oceanography and participating in this have made me realize how little attention people have paid to the protection of the ocean," Zhou said. "All we do is to keep searching for useful things to take from the sea."

Contestant Li Sui had never been to the beach. Li, of Shenyang, capital city of Northeast China's Liaoning Province, caught onto the sand craft quickly because he is a sculpture student at the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts.

"It is not as easy as I used to imagine," Li admitted. "For the first few days we were having a lot of fun playing with sand. Yet, when it came to the latter part, we were really exhausted. It is very different from making sculptures of mud. You cannot correct any part once you complete a sand sculpture."

Judges, brought in from the Netherlands, were stunned by the students' skills.

"Their works are amazing," said Eppo Vogel, general manager of INAXI, a prominent sand sculpture company from Holland. "I can see how talented they are from what they have created in the sand."

The 14 teams will finish with their creations soon, although officials refused to say when the competition will end or what the prizes are.

Yet winning or losing isn't the important part of the event.

"We highly value this chance to be a part of the programme," said Situ Jinzhu, head of the team from Taiwan Zhongyuan University. "Although we are not experienced, we are so glad to be able to see how other teams are working. We have learned a lot from them."

(Xinhua News Agency 08/27/2001)