The world’s largest ice and snow festival near Siberia

YemenExtra

The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mugrini on Monday criticized the decision of the Israeli occupation authorities to impose taxes on church property in occupied Jerusalem, Mugrini said during a joint press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

Mugrini said that she would discuss in Brussels with Arab foreign ministers and Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the process of settlement in the Middle East.

She expressed its support for a settlement based on the two-state solution, with Jerusalem as capital, renewing the European Union’s position that all Israeli settlement units are illegal.

The municipality in Jerusalem announced its intention to start collecting funds from the Christian churches, called taxes on real estate and land owned throughout the city.

The Church of “Qiama” in Jerusalem, which is the holiest place for Christians and a major destination for pilgrims, was closed to protest the Israeli authorities’ decision to impose taxes on church property in the city.

The number of Christians in Jerusalem now ranges from 10 to 12,000, out of a total population of 300 thousand.

But it does easily fall below zero degrees; after all, Harbin is not far from Siberia. The activities in the park help keep visitors warm — the longest ice slide in the world, in addition to many smaller slides, bike rings, bumper cars and all kinds of other sliding rides.

The festival has also created a very specialized job: ice architect. The lead architect for the festival, Cui Shiyao, is originally from Harbin. Now in his early 30s, he has been designing the ice buildings for three years.

Cui says the construction of the park took just two weeks. It took as many as 10,000 workers, he said, and the job was very much “similar to ordinary construction work.”

Instead of using bricks and mortar, the army of workers strictly followed a design plan to build the structures using ice blocks and water.

The source of all that ice is one of the most amazing aspects of the feat. The expansive Songhua River that flows through the city lies under a thick surface of ice in the winter.

When the festival begins in Harbin, the frozen works of art will remains on display for about two months. Then, everything melts to the ground naturally, as a proper farewell to the winter. Nothing is preserved.