China's first Legoland theme park to open in July

Legoland Shanghai Resort, China's first Legoland destination, is set for a grand opening on July 5, according to British entertainment giant Merlin Entertainments, the park's operator.

Located in Shanghai's Jinshan District, the 318,000-square-meter resort is a Lego theme park and hotel destination for children aged two to 12 and their families.

Across eight immersive zones, the mega resort houses more than 75 interactive rides, shows and attractions, as well as thousands of Lego models made with more than 85 million Lego bricks. It also includes a distinctive Monkie Kid Zone, which is inspired by the Chinese classic novel "Journey to the West." Located close to the park is the 250-room Legoland Hotel, which is also slated to open on July 5.

From Shanghai Disneyland to the upcoming Peppa Pig theme park, Legoland Shanghai adds to the city's ever-growing list of amusement parks.

"It feels really amazing here. What we usually see are tiny Lego bricks, but now they have been turned into realistic images.It's great," said a mother, who brought her child on Saturday to the park which is in currently undergoing internal tests and trial operations.

"It feels really exciting and we are having a great time here. Nowhere else can we play with Lego bricks like this with our imagination," said another mother.

Siegfried Boerst, managing director of Legoland Resort China, said he expects the park to drive the growth of Shanghai's tourism industry.

"Very excited that we are reaching the stage of the opening of Legoland Shanghai. We strongly believe that Legoland Shanghai will contribute to the tourism industry for Shanghai and will attract many Chinese and international visitors to the Jinshan District," Boerst told CCTV.

For those who may want to avoid the large crowds after Legoland Shanghai opens next month, the city's Xuhui District has also built a Lego-themed entertainment area, which features the same scale replicas of the local landmarks and other attractions found at the resort.

"This area is open to the public between June 11 to July 27. Visitors can register for free via our mini app. Together with the children and artists, we have used Lego bricks to create this playground," said Wu Songling, a member of the creative team of the Denmark-based Lego Group.

In addition to the park in Shanghai, construction on another two Legoland theme parks are also underway in Shenzhen City in south China and Chengdu City in southwest China, respectively.

China's first Legoland theme park to open in July

China's first Legoland theme park to open in July

Iran's Minister of Science, Research and Technology Hossein Simaei-Sarraf on Saturday condemned the United States and Israel for attacking Iranian academic institutions and research facilities, saying that more than 30 universities across the country have been directly targeted since the war started in late February.

The official made the condemnation when speaking to reporters at the site of the damaged Shahid Beheshti University in the Iranian capital Tehran.

Simaei-Sarraf said five university professors and more than 60 students had been killed in the strikes so far, describing attacks on Iranian infrastructure as "crimes against humanity."

Those killed include Saeed Shamghadri, an associate professor at the Iran University of Science and Technology. "Since the war started, five university professors, including Professor Shamghadri, and more than 60 university students have been killed. As I mentioned before, more than 30 universities in Iran have been attacked. It is unbelievable that in an era when democratic values, rights, international law, and human rights are being promoted, the most obvious of these rights are being trampled, violated, and attacked," said Simaei-Sarraf.

An U.S.-Israeli air raid hit the laser and plasma research center of the Shahid Beheshti University on Friday, destroying the interior of the entire building and shattering all the windows. The force of the strike also shattered almost all the windows on another building about 100 meters away from the explosion site.

A researcher at the university said it is incomprehensible that such a facility could become a target of attacks.

"You can see that there's neither any military personnel or military activity here. This is a place where only research was being conducted. Why did it become a target of attacks? What was the motive for this crime?" Azimi, the researcher, said in an interview with China Media Group.

Since the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran started, the Iranian government has repeatedly denounced the two countries for targeting the country's academic institutions and research facilities, calling such attacks serious war crimes.

Iranian official condemns U.S.-Israeli strikes on universities