Harbin Ice Festival Opens 　　The 15th Harbin Ice and Snow Festival opened on January 5 in the capital of northeast China's Jilin Province. 　　Vice-Mayor Yue Yuquan announced the formal opening of the annual gala in Zhaolin Park. 　　The festival will feature a series of cultural, recreational, sports and business programs which are expected to attract hundreds of thousands of tourists from home and abroad. 　　Soldiers who joined local residents in battling heavy summer flooding have been invited to join the festive activities, according to Yue. 　　 TopNews 1999-01-06 Page4