Location: Harbin International Exhibition Center Stadium (main venue); Harbin Ice and Snow World (branch venue)

Time: Opening Ceremony (20:00,February 7), Closing Ceremony (20:00, February 14)

Features: A fusion of ice and snow art with technology, showcasing Asian multiculturalism

On-ice Events: Short Track Speed Skating & Figure Skating (Heilongjiang Ice Training Center), Ice Hockey (Harbin Ice Hockey Arena)

Snow Events: Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding (Yabuli Ski Resort)

New Events: Ski Mountaineering (Yabuli Ski Resort), Mixed Doubles Curling (Harbin Pingfang District Curling Arena)

Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition on Ice and Snow: the exhibition hall of Harbin Asian Winter Games Athletes’ Village

Mascot Interaction: “Binbin” & “Nini” (little amur tiger image) available for photos outside the main stadium

Online: the official ticketing website https://tickets.harbin2025. com or the official WeChat Ticketing Mini Program (both open at 15:00, February 1, 2025)

Offline: On-Site Ticket Booths (open 2 days before the competition, where all remaining tickets in the inventory will be available to purchasers in parallel with the online sources)

Up to 3 tickets can be purchased for each competition session by one person; the total number of tickets purchased in all sales stages by one person cannot exceed 6. Any registered user can only have one unique account, multiple registration not allowed.

There are many high-speed trains between Harbin and Yabuli each day. After arriving, you can take buses to various ski resorts and hotels.

I was born missing my left hand, yet I learned to adapt. One of my earliest memories is my father trying to teach me to tie my shoes. I gently pushed him aside and figured out a way to do it with one hand. My parents tried to make me feel ordinary, but the reality was inescapable.

When I was 13, an age when kids are already very self-conscious, I remembered getting on the bus and one of the other kids stared just a little too long at my left arm. I felt a sudden urge to hide my hand. I had decided that if people knew about my missing hand, they would not want to be around me anymore.

Making friends was challenging enough, but finding love was particularly discouraging. As I started dating,I made efforts to hide my difference. Eventually we’d reach a point in the relationship where I knew I had to tell the truth. I’d think over the “big reveal” and build it up in my mind for days. When I had gathered the courage, I let out my secret over the phone and hung up in a panic. Even when I received a call, I couldn’t face discussing it, relying on the answering machine.

Everyone I shared this with — friend, co-worker or boyfriend — said kind things like, “You shouldn’t hide it.” or “It’s no big deal.” But their words didn’t matter to me. The only words that really mattered were the ones I was telling myself, that story of how I was unworthy of love.

At 28, tired of hiding, I met someone special. For the first time, I allowed someone to really hold, look at, take pictures of, touch and love my limb— love me.

That relationship ended after ten years, but I kept the self-love and compassion I learned from it. From that point on, I saw my difference as something unique and beautiful about me, something that should be shown, not hidden.

In modern society, many people are slacking off while working. But according to a new study, engaging your brain actively at work can benefit you in more ways than just advancing your career — it may also safeguard your cognitive abilities and help prevent dementia as you get older.

The significant study, published in Neurology, analyzed health and occupational data on 7,000 Norwegians who were followed from their 30s until they retired in their 60s. “Many other studies on this topic have only looked at the most recent jobs that people have,” said lead author Dr. Trine Edwin, a researcher at University of Oslo, “but due to the national database we have in Norway, we were able to follow people over much of their lifetimes.”

To do the analysis, Edwin categorized the cognitive demands of 305 occupations in Norway. More cognitively demanding jobs were not based on routine tasks, even though repetition was required at times. “There were lawyers, doctors, accountants, and people in public service in this group, but the most common occupation was teaching,” Edwin said, “as effective communication outside of the classroom and school matters. It always depends on teachers’ understandings of students’ different situations and teachers’ empathy.”

Having a routine job with little mental stimulation during your 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s is linked to a 66% higher risk of mild cognitive impairment and a 37% greater risk of dementia after the age of 70, when compared with having an occupation — that requires more complex thinking. “The occupational environment is vital in promoting cognitive well-being.” said Edwin. “Similarly, just like we can use physical exercise to grow and maintain our muscles, exercising our brain through more challenging work assignments seems to help fight dementia.”

“While I’d guess that people at risk for dementia would be well served by taking advantage of professional advancement opportunities, learning new job tasks, and refining their skills at work over a period of time, further studies will need to clarify which specific activities have the most brain healthy benefits,” Edwin added.

A few days ago, I watched a video of myself talking in perfect Chinese. I’ve been studying the language on and off for only a few years, and I’m far from fluent. But there I was, pronouncing each character just as a native speaker would. “My favorite food is sushi,” I said — wo zui xihuan de shiwu shi shousi.

I’d created the video using software from a Los Angeles-based artificial-intelligence start-up called HeyGen. The technology, which only needs a single selfie and a script to generate deepfake videos of real people “saying” almost anything, is a testament (证明) to the advancements in AI language tools. This got me thinking about the declining interest in language learning with fewer students enrolling in foreign language courses and the decrease of English proficiency among young people in some places.

AI translation, integrated into social media and messaging platforms, seems to be everywhere. Even language-learning apps are using AI-generated content in their marketing. However, language translation is an art rather than a science. Something enormous will be lost in exchange for that convenience. As Anne, a Chinese translator said, “Building a ladder between widely different languages, such as Chinese and English, is sometimes as difficult as a doctor building a bridge in a patient’s heart,”

Language learning fosters cultural competency, a skill that AI cannot simply copy. Learning a different way to speak, read, and write helps people discover new ways to see the world. No machine can replace such a profoundly human experience. Deborah Cohn, a language professor, emphasizes that language learning is actually about understanding and connecting with different cultures; Instead of abandoning language courses in favor of AI, some educators advocate for emphasizing the intercultural aspects of language learning. Paula Krebs of the MLA points out that even with a “universal translator”, sometimes, the greater meaning of people’s utterance (言辞) remains a mystery.

In essence, while AI language tools offer convenience, they lack the depth and cultural insight that comes from human language learning. The challenge and beauty of learning a language are in understanding the cultural tapestry (织锦) that weaves through words, something AI has yet to achieve.

For Better Grades - Use Your Brain!

How does the brain save new information? Think of the last time you looked up a number in the telephone book and dial it. Could you remember that number five minutes later? Probably not! 【小题1】 . Short-term memory works like a “holding area" for new information---that's where you keep the phone number while you dial it But if you can put the phone number into long-term memory, you'll remember that same phone number next week. This part of your memory holds everything from irregular verbs to the names of all your cousins.

When you study, you transfer new information into long-term memory. Every time we learn something new, the structure of the brain actually changes, 【小题2】 . When there are more connections to the new information, it's easier to find it again. Brain researchers have discovered four key points for effective study.

♦Make an effort. The brain remembers better when we are interested in the subject, already know a little about it, and know we will need the information in the future.

♦ 【小题3】 . Your brain can process only a limited amount of information at one time, so don't try to remember every detail. When studying a textbook, look for titles, headings and illustrations to show you the main ideas.

♦ 【小题4】 . One technique is to recite the ideas out loud in your own words. This is the most powerful way to transfer information from short-term to long-term memory. Another method is drawing a picture of the information, to activate the visual part of the brain.

♦ Give the new material time to soak in （吸收）一your brain has to build new physical connections. 【小题5】 . And cramming （突击准备考试）the night before a big test doesn't help.

While boarding the plane, I felt an excitement rise in me. I was about to realize a dream — traveling abroad alone for the first time. And I had the ________ to go! It was a mixture of pride, recognition and admiration for myself.

Landing at the San Francisco airport, I realized: I’ll have to ________ myself in this totally strange city. But I’m not afraid. I’m going to take advantage of every ________. The question that ________ me most before departure was: Am I really going to be alone? ________, this first trip alone also was the first trip during which I ________ many people: travelers of all ages, all styles and all origins. Therefore, I have ________ been alone.

I’m not saying that I never felt alone or afraid. Surely, there were times when I imagined how ________ it would have been with my family, especially when I got lost while trying to find my hotel, and when I travelled on a night bus next to a man who kept talking to me, so ________ that I could hardly sleep.

This trip gave me enormous ________ and all the doubts and fears before the departure had ________. Throughout my ________ there, I only felt a huge positive energy! It was a very well-planned trip but it was still the most ________ journey I ever had! However hard we try to ________ the trip, there will always be surprises and accidents. Now I do ________ what a “rich and unforgettable experience” is.