Snow Sculpture Competition in Umeå

Ume
å isn’t big, its current population is only 150,000 and 31,000 among them are students. So it is a quite yound city and it was said that the average age is only 38 years old. It must be a small village in eyes of people from mainland china. Limin, one of my friends here even name it as “Umea Village” in Chinese. Umeå is popularly known as the City of Birches, which dates from 1888 and the enormous city fire that devastated large areas of the city. When Umeå was rebuilt, wide avenues with birches planted along them were used as fire breaks to prevent fires from spreading.

Anyway, Umea has some small city charm and its own beauty for sure.

March 3rd, it’s Saturday. I got up a littble bit late. No breakfast in the hostel I live is provided in weekends. So I walk around and try to find nice place for my breakfast by the street in the city’s center, a couple of teams is working there, they are making snow sculpture.

I chat with one of group from Luleå, they are stduents from a art school in Luleå. what they are doing is to participate a snow sculpture competition here. Every year, there is this kind of activities. everyone is welcomed to make his/her art competence and skills here. this year, there are 8 groups from different areas of Sweden. The visitors and citiens are welcomed to vote from 11:00 to 13:30. All paticipants (groups) was granted by different companies, these companies will provide competitors food and traffic fees, they will get some money from the organers after contest, no matter they win or los. But the winer will get not only a winners cup, but also more some money.