Despite the fact that the capital has not yet seen its first dusting of snow this winter, Beijingers can still frolic in a winter wonderland if they want to - at Bird's Nest Stadium.

The iconic landmark has been transformed into a snowy paradise, even though the weather forecasters say the first dump of real snow is not on the horizon.

The winter festival that started on Saturday is the stadium's second - it launched the idea last year.

The 57,000-square-meter space comprises both amusement facilities and snow sports and includes an European-style castle with slides, a skating rink, a snow maze, a skiing field with 20 professional coaches and two curling rinks.

People can check it out for 120 yuan from Monday to Friday and 180 yuan per person at weekends and during holidays. The winter-themed park will be open for 70 days.

Xiang Jun, a spokesperson for the stadium, said the park is much improved on last year's and has eight new attractions among the 19 on offer.

Xiang said the festival organizers used 25,000 tons of reclaimed water to make the snow.

When it melts, the water will be collected and used for the irrigation of gardens and to flush toilets.

"We do remind visitors that the snow can be touched and played with, but don't put it in their mouth," he said.

Around 220,000 people are likely to visit the attraction.

Christopher Lay, a 42-year-old freelance photographer from the US, dropped by at the weekend with his family.

"By this time last year, there was already a lot of snow outside but, with no snow this year, we thought it would be a good idea to check out what is going on inside Bird's Nest," he said.

Li Qi, a 30-year-old Chaoyang resident, enjoyed trying out curling for the first time with his friends.

"Some facilities here are really new to us and it feels special to be playing in the snow in an Olympic stadium," he said.

Most people trying the sport are doing so for the first time, said Shi Haochuan, a coach with the curling club.

Ma Yifei, a 10-year-old who has been learning skating for four years, visited the winter festival with her father.

She said the stadium, with its blue sky overhead, gave her the feeling of being close to nature.