The 22nd “Meet in Beijing” International Arts Festival     1     (greet) arts lovers in the capital with an Olympic theme as the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games approach.

As a major     2     (culture) event of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, the arts festival will mix Olympic culture     3     arts from around the world. It will cover five major sections—performing arts, visual arts, film screening, urban events     4     Olympic celebration activities. The performing arts section will bring to stage around 100     5     (perform) from 22 counties and regions, both online and offline.

A grand gala (文艺晚会)     6     (title) See You in Beijing will kick off the festival at the Tianqiao Performing Arts Center,     7     is expected to bring traditional performing arts back to life through new stage technologies. Repertoire (节目单) includes Let it Go, and a pipa solo The Winter Tune, which will create     8     immersive visual effect with XR technology.

As part of highlights from international shows, the opera Carmen and the ballet classic La Traviata     9     (screen) at the Tianqiao Performing Arts Center. Other wonderful programs will be broadcast online on major Chinese video platforms     10     (include) Tencent, iQiyi and Youku.

2 . On the last day of each year, it has become a ceremony for large crowds to gather in the brightly lit chaos of New York’s Times Square to ring in new beginnings.     1     At the stroke of midnight, the crowd erupts into loud cheers.

    2     Because of the coronavirus pandemic, no one was allowed to gather in person, but there will be a virtual event for those wanting to watch it from home. This marked the first year that crowds were prohibited from flocking to Times Square. Though the ball drop was canceled for two years during World War II, people still came to observe the tradition and hold a minute of silence.

Over the past century, the shining ball has evolved from an iron and wood cage decorated with light bulbs to a colorful crystal object.     3     The Times Square ball began thanks to a metalworker, named Jacob Starr and the former New York Times publisher, Adolph Ochs. In 1907 Ochs commissioned Starr, who worked for sign-making firm Strauss Signs to create a new visual display. The new concept was based on time balls, nautical (航海的) devices that had gained popularity in the 19^th century. As time-telling became more precise, ship navigators (领航员) needed a standardized way to set their chronometers (精密计时表). Each day, harbors and observatories would raise and lower a metal ball at the same time to allow sailors to set their clocks to match the ball.     4    

Though Manhattan had been partially lit by electricity since the early 1880s, half of the American homes were still lit by gas lights and candles until the 1920s.     5       It was instantly popular.

3 . Harbin Ice Festival 2022

Ever think of what Elsa's ice palace might look like in real life? Ice stairs, ice walls, and ice towers? When winter approaches, Harbin turns into a kingdom of ice and snow.

The annual Harbin Ice and Snow Festival opens in late December and lasts for around 3 months, till late February.

What’s new for Harbin Ice Festival.

Every year, there’s a unique theme for the Ice Festival. For 2022, there will be tributes (歌颂) to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. You will find the whole park is like a huge Winter Olympics venue (场地)!

A huge Snowflake Ferris Wheel (摩天轮) has already been built inside the park. Visitors will be able to ride on the Ferris Wheel and overlook the ice castles in early 2023. For this upcoming festival, the highlight may be when the giant Snowflake is colorfully lit up at night, shining high in the sky.

Yearly Time Line

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Tickets to Harbin Ice and Snow World are on sale now!

·Dec. 25, 2021－Jan. 5, 2022: ￥170/person (half price for children)

·Jan. 6, 2022－Feb. 28, 2022: ￥230/person (half price for children)

Contact us for available tour dates be fore they are fully booked.

Attention

As long as the ice and snow sculptures are open to visitors, it is impossible to take photos of the charming ice buildings without any visitors in! This might be different from what you see in the media (that have special access).