China

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Xu Shi You,41, is one of the men from Harbin, China, the artisan ice sculptors who came to the United States to create colorful scenes from the DreamWorks' production of "Merry Madagascar" for this years ICE! show in National Harbor, Md, Thursday, November 9, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr. / The Washington Times)

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A lion character from the movie Madagascar is made entirely of ice, as artisan ice sculptors from Harbin, China work to create colorful scenes from the DreamWorks' production of "Merry Madagascar" for this years ICE! show in Oxon Hill, Md, Thursday, November 9, 2011. 40 men from Harbin, China return here to create a frozen wonderland, complete with an ice slide and characters from the movie. These men are a part of the team which creates the famous Harbin Ice Festival in Harbin, China every year. Some of the sculptures are comprised of colored ice blocks, yielding brilliant tones and deep hues for highlights and accents. Others are illuminated internally by some of the exhibit's 1,400 specially designed LED tube lights, evoking the ice lanterns of old. Others are engineered to support the presence of thousands of visitors over the exhibit's lifespan. (Rod Lamkey Jr. / The Washington Times)

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Using a chainsaw to split large blocks of green colored ice, an artisan ice sculptor from Harbin, China works with others from his team to create colorful scenes from the DreamWorks' production of "Merry Madagascar" for this years ICE! show in Oxon Hill, Md, Thursday, November 9, 2011. 40 men from Harbin, China return here to create a frozen wonderland, complete with an ice slide and characters from the movie. These men are a part of the team which creates the famous Harbin Ice Festival in Harbin, China every year. Some of the sculptures are comprised of colored ice blocks, yielding brilliant tones and deep hues for highlights and accents. Others are illuminated internally by some of the exhibit's 1,400 specially designed LED tube lights, evoking the ice lanterns of old. Others are engineered to support the presence of thousands of visitors over the exhibit's lifespan. (Rod Lamkey Jr. / The Washington Times)

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Gao Zhi Gang, 29, is one of the men from Harbin, China, the artisan ice sculptors who came to the United States to create colorful scenes from the DreamWorks' production of "Merry Madagascar" for this years ICE. (Rod Lamkey Jr. / The Washington Times)

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An artisan ice sculptor from Harbin, China uses a mixture of shaved ice and water to create a kind of frozen paste to attach blocks of ice together as he works on creating a wreath using blocks of green ice as he and others from his team work to create colorful scenes from the DreamWorks' production of "Merry Madagascar" for this years ICE! show in Oxon Hill, Md, Thursday, November 9, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr. / The Washington Times)

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Wu Qiang, 32, is one of the men from Harbin, China, the artisan ice sculptors who came to the United States to create colorful scenes from the DreamWorks' production of "Merry Madagascar" for this years ICE! show in National Harbor, Md, Thursday, November 9, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr. / The Washington Times)

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Using a chainsaw to split large blocks of green colored ice, an artisan ice sculptor from Harbin, China works with others from his team to create colorful scenes from the DreamWorks' production of "Merry Madagascar" for this years ICE! show in Oxon Hill, Md, Thursday, November 9, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr. / The Washington Times)

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Artisan ice sculptors from Harbin, China work on the huge ice slide as they work to create colorful scenes from the DreamWorks' production of "Merry Madagascar" for this years ICE! show in Oxon Hill, Md, Thursday, November 9, 2011. 40 men from Harbin, China return here to create a frozen wonderland, complete with an ice slide and characters from the movie. These men are a part of the team which creates the famous Harbin Ice Festival in Harbin, China every year. Some of the sculptures are comprised of colored ice blocks, yielding brilliant tones and deep hues for highlights and accents. Others are illuminated internally by some of the exhibit's 1,400 specially designed LED tube lights, evoking the ice lanterns of old. Others are engineered to support the presence of thousands of visitors over the exhibit's lifespan. (Rod Lamkey Jr. / The Washington Times)

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An artisan ice sculptor from Harbin, China works on creating a wreath using blocks of green ice as he and others from his team work to create colorful scenes from the DreamWorks' production of "Merry Madagascar" for this years ICE! show in Oxon Hill, Md, Thursday, November 9, 2011. 40 men from Harbin, China return here to create a frozen wonderland, complete with an ice slide and characters from the movie. These men are a part of the team which creates the famous Harbin Ice Festival in Harbin, China every year. Some of the sculptures are comprised of colored ice blocks, yielding brilliant tones and deep hues for highlights and accents. Others are illuminated internally by some of the exhibit's 1,400 specially designed LED tube lights, evoking the ice lanterns of old. Others are engineered to support the presence of thousands of visitors over the exhibit's lifespan. (Rod Lamkey Jr. / The Washington Times)

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Gu Ji Bin, 62, is one of the men from Harbin, China, the artisan ice sculptors who came to the United States to create colorful scenes from the DreamWorks' production of "Merry Madagascar" for this years ICE! show in National Harbor, Md, Thursday, November 9, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr. / The Washington Times)

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An artisan ice sculptor from Harbin, China works on a wall of crystal clear ice as he and others work on the huge ice slide, and as others on their team work to create colorful scenes from the DreamWorks' production of "Merry Madagascar" for this years ICE! show in Oxon Hill, Md, Thursday, November 9, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr. / The Washington Times)

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Chinese President Hu Jintao appeared unmoved by President Obama's efforts to have China's monetary policy loosened, saying yuan exchange rates are not to blame for the U.S. trade deficit and weak job market.

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Chinese President Hu Jintao appeared unmoved by President Obama's efforts to have China's monetary policy loosened, saying yuan exchange rates are not to blame for the U.S. trade deficit and weak job market, according to the Xinhua News Agency. (Associated Press)

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President Obama (right) and his wife Michelle (second from left) greet Chinese President Hu Jintao (second from right) and his wife Liu Yongqing before their dinner at the APEC Summit in Honolulu on Nov. 12, 2011. (Associated Press)

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Illustration: China and U.S. by Alexander Hunter for The Washington Times

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Protesters carrying a Goddess of Liberty march through Hong Kong in late May ahead of the 22nd anniversary of China's crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Beijing. (Associated Press)

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An international crew of researchers - from left, Alexey Sitev of Russia, Romain Charles of France, Suhrob Kamolov of Russia, Alexander Smoleevskiy of Russia, Diego Urbina of Italy/Colombia and Wang Yue of China - gives a thumbs-up after a 520-day simulation of a flight to Mars, in Moscow on Tuesday. (Associated Press)