Couplets, hanging lanterns, preparing New Year goods ... so far so good, the usual preoccupations for this time of year but this is different. Spring Festival meets the Winter Olympics and the Chinese Lunar New Year gives this sporting event greater significance. The festive celebration will see the final countdown to the Beijing Winter Olympics.

At landmarks along Chang'an Street, including Tian'anmen Square, 10 festive Winter Olympics-themed flower beds have appeared one after another, adding a dash of color to the streets of Beijing in winter. The Beijing Landscaping Bureau says this is the first time Beijing has arranged garden flower beds in winter.

The main area of the "Wonderful Winter Olympics" flower bed located in Tian'anmen Square is a red Chinese knot, with a strong Lunar New Year flavor; on the "Ice and Snow" flower bed in the southeast corner of Xidan, the image of children playing in the snow takes people back to their childhood. Lan Hailang, chief designer of the flower beds and head of the expert studio of Beijing landscape and Forestry Group's design institute, says the shape of the Chinese knot not only incorporates the Winter Olympic emblem, but also elements of snowflakes.

"The red Chinese knot symbolizes joy. This traditional shape is in harmony with the surrounding environment of Tian'anmen Square. The color also echoes the red towers and city walls. Spring Festival is a time for family reunions. The use of Chinese knots to highlight traditional Chinese culture also symbolizes that people from all over the world will work together to create a better future," he says.

In Beijing's Shijingshan district, Moshikou Street has been decorated in a Winter Olympics theme. Not only do Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon, the two mascots, make an appearance, but the trees on both sides of the street are also decorated with lanterns and snowflakes. At night, a dynamic snowflake projection is cast, as if putting on a gorgeous snow and ice coat for the ancient street. The themed festival will last until March 14.

Walking into the Beijing 2022 Official Licensed Product Flagship Store on Wangfujing Pedestrian Street, the Winter Olympic Badge Wall is quite an eye-catcher, with stacked commemorative badges creating a real Winter Olympics experience.

As soon as visitors walk into the snow field at Beixiao Lake in Zizhuyuan Park, the cheerful melody of Together to the Future floats into their ears, enhancing the atmosphere.

Younger children take photos with cute polar bears, penguins and panda dolls. The children enjoy speeding down from the 6-meter-high and 80-meter-long snowcapped slide. In addition, snow tanks, go-karts, snow trains, snow golf and other entertainment items are also very popular.

In the China Pavilion in Beijing Expo Park in Yanqing district, 200 photographic works are on show, telling the story of the greening and beautification efforts in the capital, and the achievements of the city's everchanging ecological civilization construction.

During the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics Official Chinese Journal will record and present the games in an all-round manner. The journal can be bought in more than 700 newsstands across Beijing.

Beijing won the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2015 and has spent the intervening years preparing to welcome the world.

From 2018 Winter Olympics host Pyeongchang, to Beijing, a journey of 1,440 days and nights, our journey ends on the stage athletes dream of.

The Chinese athletes have an established strategy－a breakthrough followed by an even bigger breakthrough, a leap followed by an even greater leap. After four years, the waiting is almost over as the time for dreams start.