Bird's Nest opens winter snow gala

The iconic showpiece Bird's Nest has kicked off a winter wonderland in its bid to deal with its post-Olympic economic difficulty.

The 57,000 sq m area offers a ski slope, ice rink, snow sculptures and snow mountain and scooters. A total of 5,000 seats in the south part of the stadium have been removed and built into a snow slope.

According to Yang Cheng, the deputy general manager of National Stadium Co Ltd, the snow fun will be accompanied by festive activities, including rock and roll concerts, a Christmas celebration and a New Year's Eve party.

Bird's Nest officials said they had received over 6,000 visitors over the weekend after the festival started on Saturday. But officials said earlier they would need 5,000 visitors per day to cover the costs of the operation.

The snow festival cost 50 million yuan to prepare and about 25,000 tons of recycled water will be used to build the snow during the two-month festival.