Sculptors create a castle-shaped sand sculpture in Weihai city, East China's Shandong province, March 30, 2016. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

More than 20 sculptors from China and abroad gathered in Weihai city in East China's Shandong province on Wednesday to prepare for the upcoming sand sculpture festival.

The sand sculptures will be divided into two sections. More than 50 sculptures in the festival site's east section are inspired by stories from the Chinese classic, Journey to the West.

The west section is Silk Road themed. Sculptors will use 10 sets of sand sculptures to show the cultural and natural environment of the countries along the Belt and Road, which is short for the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.