On January 8th, the 1st Ice City Cultural and Tourism Festival opened in Beitun, a city of lakes lying beside Yudai River and under the jurisdiction of the Tenth Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Featuring ice and snow resources in Beitun City, local culture and folk customs, this event aimed to unleash the enthusiasm of local people to participate in ice sports and get ready for the Winter Olympics. 

　　Themed on ice+culture+sports+tourism, the event lasts from January 8 to February 28. There will be a wide range of activities during the whole process, in an effort to bring tourists closer to ice sports and life and further unleash the potential of winter tourism. 

　　To make a success of the 1st Ice City Cultural and Tourism Festival, an ice valley covering a land area of 64,000 square meters was built, with ice sculptures featuring A City of Lakes, Xinjiang in the New Era, the Tenth Division, Welcome the New Year, Fun Valley, Ice Entertainment and Cuisine, which showed the achievements and highlights of Beitun City. (cited from chinakongzi.com, source from Chinanews.com.cn)