Upon the invitation of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), a team of snow carvers from the Macau Culinary Association entered the 44^th International Snow Sculpture Contest in Sapporo, in northern Japan, bringing home the champion's title. Its prize winning snow sculpture - titled 'Crane Dance in Spring' - is an exquisite work of art brought to life, winning the appreciation of spectators from around the world and shining on the snowy wonderland as a tourism ambassador for Macao. MGTO hopes that participation in the contest can encourage more Japanese to visit Macao as well as attracting international tourists who enjoy mega events.

Last year, a team of snow carvers from Macau Culinary Association was invited by MGTO for the first time to join the International Snow Sculpture Contest and returned home runner-up. This year, Perry Yuan Kam Hung, Patrick Li Hing Cheung and Tam Kuong Wu from the Association once again joined the Contest as a team from Macao. From 5^th to 8^th February, they dedicated themselves unreservedly day and night in bitterly cold weather to create a lively and exquisite snow sculpture named 'Crane Dance in Spring,' a symbol of peace and longevity. With their masterful skills, the team won the championship of the 44^th International Snow Sculpture Contest.

The Sapporo Snow Festival is a popular Winter festival in Japan that attracts over two million visitors from domestic cities and abroad every year, attended by media from around the world. The 44^th International Snow Sculpture Contest pitted eleven teams from different countries and regions against each other from far-flung places like Latvia, Hawaii, Poland, Singapore and Macao.

In February of last year, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, Alexis Tam, led an MGTO delegation to participate in the Sapporo Snow Festival and promote the destination. On that occasion, Macao, a feature destination in the Festival, showcased a snow sculpture of the Ruins of St. Paul's and presented video mapping projections and more, enthusing many local and foreign spectators.

Japan is the second largest international visitor source market for Macao. Last year, Japanese visitor arrivals to the territory topped 300,000, a year-on-year increase of 6.5 per cent.