Beijing's Fifth Ice and Snow Festival opened on the evening of January 2 at five famous tourist spots of Beijing.

Sponsored by the people's government of Yanqing County and the Beijing Tourism Bureau, the festival will feature large lanterns, ice sculptures of famous buildings, ice and snow sports programs, as well as sightseeing and folk art performances.

The festival, involving some six million yuan (about 800,000 U. S. dollars) of investment and covering an area of two million sq. m, will last until the end of February.