Beijing olympic grounds home to new festival

The Olympic Green is alive with penguins and other cold climate fauna with the start of the Ice and Snow Festival today.

Following the sharp drop in temperature in Beijing, eight emperor penguins landed at the festival Thursday evening on their first visit to the city. The creatures from different sides of the globe will live in the man-made winter wonderland for 77 days.

Others from the arctic are on their way including some polar bears, sled dogs and reindeer, according to sports.qq.com.

It is the second year for this Ice and Snow Festival to be held on the Olympic Green. This year’s festival will continue through Christmas, New Year’s Day, Chinese Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival. The 30,000 square meter man made winter wonderland will serve as a hot spot for winter activities, including skiing, snowmobiling or just plain snowball fighting.

The festival will continue from December to March.