Organised by the GOPRO Cameras - Silver Sun Company, the 2^nd Sand Sculpture Contest took place at Da Nang’s My Khe Beach on Sunday. 

The event saw the participation of about 1,000 contestants from 70 domestic and foreign teams, including Viet Nam, the USA, the UK, Australia, France, Japan, and New Zealand.

During the event, numerous sculptures, made from sand and sea water using the contestants’ rich imagination and dexterity, featured specific national cultural characteristics.  They included Mount Fuji and figures of Doremon and Sumo from Japan, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, the Smurf Castle, the ship Titanic, and a pizza from Italy.  There were also some Vietnamese cultural examples such as Mother Thu, Son Tinh (The God of the Mountain) and Thuy Tinh (the God of the Water), and a bowl of pho (beef noodle soup).  Most notably, there were many works which depicted the unique symbols of Da Nang like the Tran Thi Ly and Dragon bridges, plus the Ba Na Hills Resort.

Young local contestant making his sculpture of Mother Thu

In addition, some participants designed their sculptures to incorporate messages of environmental protection.  These included an image of both hands embracing and holding up the earth, and marine creatures such as dolphins, whales, octopuses and mermaids.

The annual event is part of a series of activities in the city’s summer tourism programme.  Its purposes are to advertise the local beach tourism brand to domestic and international friends, create a useful playground for both locals and visitors, as well as to raise public awareness about protecting the marine environment and its creatures.