Tourists skate outside the Bird's Nest in Beijing, Dec 26, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

As one of the warm up events for the 2022 Winter Olympics, the two-month-long festival also will features cultural activities, exhibitions and immersive VR experiences, such as crossing rope bridges over snowy mountains.

The Water Cube - the curling venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics - opened its Olympic-standard ice arena for curling on Dec 9 and will remain open until Wednesday. A 900-square-meter rink also is available for ice skating and ice hockey.