Winters can be harsh in Heilongjiang, China’s northeastern province     1     (border) Russia.

The residents of Harbin, Heilongjiang’s capital, brighten the winter     2     (month) by carving fantastic frozen sculptures for the International Ice and Snow Festival that takes place in January and February every year. Once a     3     (region) affair, the festival has grown to be a major international event.

“It’s quite surreal (梦幻般的), due to both the scale (规模)     4     all the beautiful lighting—like being     5     a fantasy movie,” says Christian Stanley of the China Travel Company. “It’s so big that you can’t help wondering     6     they managed to build all of this so quickly.”

It’s also a good choice to take a break from Harbin’s winter wonderland with a visit to the Siberian Tiger Park.     7     (locate) a few miles northwest of the city on the Songhua River, the park     8     (establish) in 1996 to help protect these animals, the largest felines (猫科动物) in the world. Hundreds of Siberian tigers—accustomed (适应) to the winter cold—     9     (free) walk around the nature reserve, along with leopards and black puma. Visitors must ride in special buses to get protected from the tigers as the animals gather around out of     10     (curious).

Praised by international media as a “winter wonderland” and “China’s ice city”, the city of Harbin attracted a record number of     1     (visitor) over the New Year’s Day holidays. The city’s     2     (popular) continued after the holiday as the 40th China Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival kicked off. Tourists from home and abroad     3     (draw) to the city by its grand and exquisite snow and ice sculptures. Among them, the 11 preschool children from Nanning, the subtropical capital city of Guangxi, over 3,000 kilometers away, were surely one of the     4     (high) profile guests.

Their trip, overloaded with cuteness, has become     5     online hit. Aged between 3 and 6 years old and accompanied by three teachers, the kids were affectionately given the nickname “little sugar tangerines (柑橘)” by netizens.     6     (express) gratitude for the great care and hospitality the kids received, Guangxi sent nearly 200 tons of fresh tangerines to Heilongjiang     7     a thank-you gift. The story continued with Harbin’s     8     (send) back more gifts to Guangxi,     9     gradually evolves (演变) to a “gift” and friendship exchange craze sweeping across the country.

More and more regions are joining in the exchanges between the north and south. The wave of exchanges     10     (bring) by the tourism boom in Harbin is a good sign and very encouraging.

Fairy-tale ice sculptures attract hundreds of thousands of tourists into China’s Harbin.China’s annual Ice and Snow Festival, with     1     (it) fairy-tale ice sculptures, opened on Friday, drawing large crowds of tourists who walked carefully over the     2     (slip) ice and snow. This year the ice park covers 810, 000 square meters with 250, 000 cubic meters of sculptured ice     3     (harvest) from the nearby frozen Songhua River, and lit up at night with colourful lights.

The sculptures, some of     4     were a-few-storey-high, featured Chinese style buildings and bridges, fairy-tale castles, towers and one modeled after Beijing’s Temple of Heaven. All of them left a deep     5     (impress) on the visitors.

The festival’s marketing vice director Sun Zemin told Reuters the average number of people visiting the park daily has increased     6     (significant) to around 30,000 this year. Over the past few days, the festival park     7     (receive) more than 163, 200 people,     8    (generate) 46. 18 million yuan ($6 45 million) in income, nearly six times higher     9     a year ago. That helped draw some 3.05 million tourists to the city during the same period, and Heilongjiang’s Culture and Tourism Department called the tourist boom     10     “ice and snow miracle” in Harbin this winter.

As winter draws in, many flock to the south of China for its warmer climate and great beaches. However, those who are more daring head north looking for snowy adventures in the icy climates of Northeast China.     1     particular, an increasing number of tourists have been drawn to the frosty delights of Harbin, known as the Ice City.

Harbin, whose name is said to originate from a Manchu word that means “a place for drying fishing nets”, sprung up from a small rural     2     (settle) along the Songhua River to become one of the largest cities in Northeast China and capital of Heilongjiang province.

The city flourished with the arrival of the Chinese Eastern Railway,     3     connected it to the outside world, especially the Russian Empire. This paved the way for Harbin’s future development of     4    (it) unique culture where East meets West.

The city is     5     (distinguish) for its ice and snow festivals across the globe. These attract thousands of visitors, with sculptors     6     (travel) from all corners of the world to showcase their talents and a variety of winter-themed activities and sports.

Apart from these festivals, the city has much more to offer, from its     7     (tradition) European-style architecture to its more modern buildings, such as the Harbin Grand Theatre and the city’s most famous landmark, the Saint Sophia Cathedral. The unique cuisine, including Harbin-style smoky-savory red sausage, guo bao rou and kvass, a fermented cereal-based drink, can all     8     (sample) along Zhongyang Street.

While winter may be the best time     9     (visit) Harbin, the city has plenty to offer all year round and its individual charms make it     10     must-see spot no matter the weather.

When you are going to visit Beijing, it’s likely that you’ll want to visit the Tiananmen Square.     1     square is impressively big and is located to the north, separating Beijing from the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is a breathtaking palace complex (建筑群) that     2    (house) the palace museum and was formally the Chinese royal palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. Covering 178 acres, the Forbidden City is made up of 980 buildings.

The Temple of Heaven, including Lama Temple (Yonghe Temple), the Beijing Temple of Confucius and Beijing Zoo,     3    (recommend) as well. Lama Temple is one of Beijing’s most attractive and best-preserved     4    (temple). The zoo is one of the oldest in China,     5    (date) back to 1906, and is home to a great variety of animals.

The Great Wall isn’t located in the city itself, but if you have made the trip to Beijing, you can’t leave     6     going to see it. There are many organized tours from Beijing     7     will take you to the Mutianyu Great Wall. If you don’t want     8    (sweep) away by big crowds in summer, visit the wall in winter. It will be     9    (extreme) cold, but you’ll have a better experience. It will be     10    (easy) to shoot nice pictures, too.