By Wu Jie

The New Year countdown celebrations, which were scheduled to be held at The Place in Chaoyang district on December 31, have been trimmed due to expected cold weather.

The Central Meteorological Observatory issued an orange warning for the recent cold snap. It has been reported that a strong wave of cold air will sweep across Beijing in 10 days with temperatures dropping 8 to 12 C.

Zhang Jiajie, spokesperson for the organizers of the event, told the Global Times Monday that in light of the upcoming temperatures and strong winds, the planned events were scaled down.

Zhang said that events including floats and snow-related activities were canceled. Also, they called off the plan of setting up a high-rise stage over concerns it may blow over.

The only performance that remains is the four-minute long footage of traditional folk song "Jasmine" that will be played at midnight to mark the beginning of 2010. Artificial snow-makers will also be operating to help set the mood, Zhang added.

One indoor activity yet remains, collecting New Year wishes from residents, and people should send their wishes to wishs2010@163.com before January 3.