The annual Harbin Ice and Snow Festival in China, is considered the worlds largest.
The massive and detailed snow sculptures and full-sized illuminated ice buildings attract more than a million visitors a year to the north-eastern city, where the cold Siberian wind plunges the average temperature to -13 degrees Celcius.
The elaborate ice buildings and intricately carved sculptures are made from blocks cut from the frozen Songhua River.
For weeks before the festival, hired workers collect and transport nearly 200,000 cubic metres of ice to the site.
Most of the cutters are farmers from nearby villages who start work before dawn at bitterly low temperatures to earn about $35 US per day.
Blocks weighing up to 700kg each are sculpted to different themes recreating animals and architectural wonders.
Multi-coloured lights give the structures a dazzling glow across the 750,000 square metre festival, which is marking its 35th year.
It officially opens on January 5, 2019, and runs for one month.
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
