Mr. Deng last week told The Wall Street Journal that he had planned to bring his wife to Beijing from their home province of Shaanxi, in northwest China, but had been thwarted after unidentified men prevented them from getting into a taxi at the hospital late Friday night.

WSJ: Chinese Woman in Forced-Abortion Case Claims Harassment

As described by ice sculptor Joseph Amendola in his book Ice Carving Made Easy, written records dating back to 600 BC reveal that in the highlands of northwest China, farmers would flood their fields with water, wait for it to freeze, harvest blocks of ice and then store them in insulated facilities to help preserve perishables like seafood.

BBC: The origins of ice sculpting