At the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, almost all the snow was man-made. The artificial snow（人工造雪）was first used at the Lake Placid 1980 Winter Olympics in the United States. At Sochi 2014 in Russia, 80 percent of the snow was artificial, and the figure was 90 percent at Pyeongchang 2018 in South Korea.

Artificial snow has ensured the smooth running of the Winter Games. “If you want to wait for nature to provide you with all of the required material to ski on, you risk not being able to organize a competition,” former International Ski Federation （FIS） freestyle coordinator Joseph Fitzgerald told Xinhua.

Artificial snow has irreplaceable benefits. First, the artificial snow has a much higher density（密度）than the natural snow which meets the requirements of the FIS. Second, different from natural snow, the artificial snow can be easily changed to meet the qualities and needs of different competition venues（场地）.

There are totally nine types of snow made by snow machines, with different water content. The smaller type number is closer to powder snow. The larger number means the snow is wetter. Drier snow is used in the daytime, while No. 7 or No. 8 snow is used during the nighttime with over minus 20 degrees Celsius. The use of different types of snow is factored in what’s needed for each sport. In most cases, and No. 5 snow is commonly used for Beijing 2022.

Snow machines at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games all ran on renewable energy. Water used for snow-making only comes from rainfall and surface runoff（径流）, and it can be recycled in a reservoir for agriculture and tourism.

Excited for the FIFA World Cup? Looking to surprise your friends with football knowledge? Get the best fun facts about the World Cup here!

•The FIFA World Cup has been held every four years, except in 1942 and 1946 because of World War II. More people watch the World Cup finals than any other sporting event in the world—even more people than the Olympic Games.

•The first World Cup was in 1930 in Uruguay. 13 countries played in the first World Cup. In the final game Uruguay beat Argentina and became the first World Cup Winners.

•The first time people saw the World Cup on TV was in 1954 when Switzerland held the competition.

•Only 8 countries have won the World Cup so far. Brazil is the most successful World Cup team. They have won it five times and they are the only team that has played in every tournament. However, they are the only ones to have never won it when they have hosted the tournament. Germany and Italy have both won four times.

•In 1966, England hosted the World Cup and the national team also won it. Before the World Cup started, a thief stole the Cup and tried to sell it. A pet dog named Pickles found the missing World Cup!

•The timing of the World Cup 2022 has been moved from its usually May—June—July to November—December because of the heat in Qatar, the smallest country to host the World Cup. In addition, the World Cup Qatar will be the last to include 32 teams.

•The 2026 World Cup will be hosted together by Canada, Mexico and the United States with 48 teams taking part for the first time ever.