The 2025 snowfield artwork depicting China's aircraft carrier Fujian, flanked by three carrier-based aircrafts, is completed by Harbin Engineering University students and faculty members on December 28 2025. Photo: People's Daily

Harbin Engineering University on Thursday completed and unveiled its 2025 snowfield artwork depicting China's aircraft carrier the Fujian, flanked by three carrier-based aircraft. More than 1,200 students and faculty members took part in the university's eye-catching year-end artistic creation, which showcases China's progress in major national naval equipment and technology, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.

On Sunday, a snowfield "canvas" jointly completed by more than 1,200 students and faculty members was unveiled on a 230-meter-long and 112-meter-wide sports field at Harbin Engineering University in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The artwork features a majestic depiction of the aircraft carrier Fujian cutting through the snow, flanked by three carrier-based aircraft models — the KJ-600, J-35 and J-15 CCTV News reported. 

According to the Xinhua News Agency, the 2025 design process began in September and went through more than 60 revisions, marking the first time an overhead three-dimensional composition was adopted. Wave and airflow lines used to enhance visual impact. In the two days prior to the drawing activity, the design team deployed 10 groups to mark more than 1,300 coordinate points on the field using BeiDou positioning technology with centimeter-level accuracy.

The head of the CAD (computer-aided design) team for the project was quoted by People's Daily as saying that none of the more than 1,300 positioning points could be misplaced, as even a slight deviation in any single coordinate could distort the final image.

The drawing process took about 1.5 hours. People's Daily quoted one of the participating students as saying that the commissioning of the aircraft carrier Fujian marks China's entry into the "three-carrier era," adding that being able to personally "build" it made them feel very proud.

The 2025 artwork marked the seventh time Harbin Engineering University has held the "snow carrier" drawing activity. Previous designs included a depiction of the Liaoning in 2018, a dual-carrier image of the Liaoning and the Shandong in 2019, and a three-carrier sketch in 2022, the year the Fujian was launched. This year's snowfield artwork features the Fujian alongside three carrier-based aircraft, with People's Daily noting that the evolution of the "snow carrier" images reflects the successive commissioning of major national assets.

Global Times