The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival,     1     officially opened on January 5 and will run through next month, has turned the city in northeastern     2     (China) Heilongjiang province into a wonderland.

Last year, more than a million visitors     3     (attract) to Harbin to see the huge sculptures     4     (create) from huge ice blocks and tons of snow by artists from 12 countries.

In the weeks     5     (lead) up to the latest festival, hundreds of workers spent hours cutting blocks of ice from the nearby Songhua River. Each piece weighed up to 1,554 pounds and almost 261,500m³ of ice were cut     6     transported on-site.

When the ice and snow sculptures are lit up by thousands of lanterns, they are very     7     (impress), with the massive main sculpture measuring 108 feet in height and over 325 feet in     8     (long). From fantasy castles and creatures to recreations of iconic monuments, the incredible ice and snow sculptures allow the public to relive     9     (they) childhood. Many visitors say it is     10     once-in-a-lifetime experience for them!

Smart, cozy and accessible, Beijing’s Winter Olympic Village has all the elements needed to provide athletes with a safe and comfortable home away     1     home during next year’s Games.

As promised in its bidding submission, Beijing's commitment to     2    (host) “athlete-centered” Games has materialized in     3     big way, with 20 residential buildings — all furnished and decorated to a high standard and fitted with fresh-air ventilation systems—    4    (complete) this month well ahead of the opening ceremony on Feb 4.

Situated in the northern part of the city’s downtown against the backdrop of the Bird’s Nest, the Beijing Olympic Village, which     5    (cover) an area of 330,000 square meters, is the largest of three official residential areas built for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The Beijing village will undergo an operational test     6    (late) this month with all facilities,     7    (serve) and COVID-19 control and prevention measures to be evaluated. Should the test go well, the village will initiate a trial run on Jan 23 before     8    (official) opening on Jan27.

“We are trying to make the village a safe and comfortable home for every athlete and official,     9     they can enjoy themselves and be as relaxed as possible     10     experience some of the cultural characteristics of the host city at the same time,” said Yang Jingfeng, deputy director of resident services for the village operation team.