The 2011 Fulong Sand Sculpture Festival is going to open on May first, featuring a total of 61 sculpture works this time by artists from seven countries. Some of them have already arrived in Taiwan to prepare for their artistic creations.

Walking in this thick sand, each step is quite heavy, and it takes quite a few minutes to get to the middle of the beach.

This Japanese sand artist is visiting as soon as he got off the plane as he wants to see how he will construct his work.

He discusses with local workers as wants a 7 meter foundation to make the sculpture more solid.

The foundation is made from packed sand and water, taking several days of work to make it strong.

Later, the carving can begin with these hands-on creative artists including this individual from Japan.

He had already made a plan for the sculpture, but following the earthquake on March 11th, he decided to change the subject.

Today is also Tomb Sweeping Day and this sand sculpture artist began to look ahead to the foundations which are being made.

This will be completed ahead of the May 1st beginning which is also attracting lots of curious onlookers and visitors.

The 2011 Fulong International Sand Sculpture Festival will be held for the 4th time, bringing artists from 7 countries for a total of 61 works.

The most notable will be 7 meters high and 20 meters wide, the largest Taiwan sand sculpture, as the overall scale of the event will be much bigger than previous events and will run from May 1 to June 30th.