GALVESTON - At Moody Gardens, staffers are donning parkas and knitted snow caps. Winter has come early.
It's a chilly 19 degrees in the enormous tent that fronts the entertainment complex. And it will only get colder when Ice Land, its $5-million holiday-themed attraction, opens to the public on Nov. 15.
Inside the 28,000-square-foot tent, professional ice carvers from Harbin, China, are working around-the-clock shifts to create elaborate ice sculptures from 900 tons of colored ice.
Using small chain saws, files and chisels, the Chinese men are sculpting the colorful underwater world of Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants.
One sculptor uses his chain saw to create a crescent shape out of a peach-colored slab of ice. He dips the newly carved section into a large pot of water and then quickly presses it against a larger piece of ice. The character, no doubt one of the denizens of SpongeBob's Bikini Bottom, is beginning to take shape.
In another corner, a carver uses a level to check his work. Nearby, another refers to one of the plastic-covered, color-coded blueprints.
Huge blocks of ice are moved by men on mini forklifts, while smaller blocks are toted by hand.
"They created those packages faster than you could wrap a package," Moody spokesman Joshua Buckley said, motioning to a pair of ribbon-topped sculptures. "They work so fast."
Overseeing the ice sculpting is Qiu Guanghui. His 30-strong VYA Ice Carving Team includes the male carvers and three female designers.
Qui has been sculpting ice for 35 years. At 18, he finished third in the first ice sculpting competition he entered. Since then, he's won numerous titles. His hometown of Harbin is home to the largest ice festival in the world.
When they arrived in Galveston a month ago, the tent was chilled to 9 degrees. The carvers had the temperature raised to 19 degrees so that the ice wouldn't shatter as they worked. When the carving is done, the temperature will return to 9 degrees. That's just another day at the office for the team members. Temperatures in their hometown typically are below freezing for nearly six months of the year.
This is Qui's first visit to Texas and only his second stay in the United States. But he and his team are well-traveled, working in such far-flung places as Finland and Australia.
Qui, speaking through an interpreter, said his team is enjoying their time in Galveston.
"The beach is nice," Qui said, "and the people are friendly."
The carvers are staying at a family-run hotel within walking distance of Moody Gardens. Because they travel with their own chef, they haven't been sampling the local cuisine. But they have been promised a proper Texas barbecue before they depart for home, interpreter Qun Lu said.
The team has impressed John Zendt, Moody Gardens president and CEO. He compares the carvers' celebrity back home to professional football players here.
"These guys are stars back home," Zendt said. "There are only a couple under age 30, and they've all been carving since age 10."
Moody Gardens estimates that it will take the carvers approximately 1,080 man-hours to complete Ice Land. Among the 30-foot-tall exhibit's features will be bridges, caves and an ice slide. Visitors will be given parkas to tour the exhibit, which will remain open through Jan. 4.
When they're not carving, team members have been going to the beach and shopping. They like Ross and Marshall's. (Apparently Nike shoes are cheaper here than in China.) And several are considering purchasing the iPhone 6 before departing next month.
When the exhibit is completed, the team - except for four members who will remain for needed touch-ups or repairs - will return to China with their souvenir cowboy hats (gifts from Moody Gardens) and their memories of the island.
"The air is so fresh here," Qui said. "And there are so many fish."
