Harbin, nicknamed the ice city, in northeastern China is the place to be in the cold season of January to March especially at Chinese New Year. I was reminded of this by Chinese girl who I met in Singapore. She said, "Any travel agent in Singapore will be able to organize a trip for you, because Harbin's Ice Festival is very popular".
Ice And Snow World sculpture park, Harbin, China.
Photo by Lin Yang in Wikimedia.
The major attractions are the giant sculptures in the two parks, one on Sun Island, by the river where workers carve out the ice blocks. The ice sculptures are not those little table top ones you see at some upmarket winter weddings, but full size, like the ice hotels. You get ice bridges you can walk across. One of the venues has ice sculptures floodlit at night with glowing colours. These are paid for attractions in large fields. Hundreds of workers have toiled with heavy machinery, and great skill, for days, working days.
On investigation, I realise that the temperature of minus thirty is not a place where I would like to spend January. Minus fifteen in a South Korean ski resort did not suit me. I spent the first day, Saturday, of my weekend away at Korea's nine dragons (nine mountains) ski resort, shopping for a warmer hat to insulate my neck and cover for my nose, as well as a second layer of gloves. My time and money was spent on shopping for clothes I might never need again.
Where would you stay? Harbin has large international five-star hotels. Indoors you might warm up on winter food. What kind of food is unique to Harbin? A red sausage. Sweet and sour pork, deep fried.
Where to Go - After the ice?
South of an adjoining sister city is an ancient 11th century walled city. An excursion for those more into culture than sport.
Summer Celebrations In Sunny Weather
The good news is that Harbin has summer alternative cultural attractions. Reading about the previous years with the world record for the number of pianos playing - more than 600 simultaneously, I knew the festival would be fun. The music mentioned included the Radestsky March, one of my all-time favourites, jolly upbeat music, rather than dismal dirges, made my eyes open and my mouth widen in a smile.
The music festival is held in alternate years, the even years, 2, 4, 6. 8, 10, so the next one is 2020. That gives me and you plenty of time to learn to write and read and speak Mandarin Chinese. Rather than relying on the tedious method of using Google translate with taxi drivers, I can practise my conversations using Earworms, and FutureLearn.
Two new underground railway lines will be finished, we hope, by 2012. The underground will have bilingual signs. Elsewhere, much is in Chinese. Now would be a good time to start cultivating some Chinese friends, penfriends and Facebook friends. They could be mentors in learning Chinese, translators, and enthusiastic travelling companions. Remember the winegrowers' saying, the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is now.
Harbin Railway station, photo by Prince Roy from Flickr used in Wikimedia.
Two new underground railway lines will be finished, we hope, by 2012. The underground will have bilingual signs. Elsewhere, much is in Chinese. Now would be a good time to start cultivating some Chinese friends, penfriends and Facebook friends. They could be mentors in learning Chinese, translators, and enthusiastic travelling companions. Remember the winegrowers' saying, the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is now.
Harbin Railway station, photo by Prince Roy from Flickr used in Wikimedia.
As you can see, major signs are in Chinese. If I had not been told this was a railway station, I would have thought it was a department store. Would the clock have been a hint that it was a railway station? Yes. But other buildings also have clocks.
Tasty Summertime Food
Tasty Summertime Food
In Singapore my new Chinese friend's father grew up in Harbin and she has family there. In summer, she recalled, "In Harbin you eat watermelon, sweet melon, honeydew melon, corn, apricots, fresh peaches - much tastier than the ones we get in Singapore." Watermelon sounds refreshing for hot weather.
Harbin's summertime cultural attraction is the music festival held every two years in the 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 years, so the next event is the year after next in 2020.
Worldwide - Ice Is Nice!
This place, Harbin, has been on my winter wish list for years, along with the ice hotels of the USA and Canada and Scandinavia.
If you don't have the time and money to travel to China this winter-spring and would like a winter ice resort nearer your base elsewhere, alternatives are winter celebrations in Quebec City, Canada. Alternatively, over in Europe, go north to Norway.
Meanwhile, back in Harbin:
Confucius Temple, Harbin, China. Photo from Wikimedia, article on Harbin.
See and Do Top Ten Checklist
1 Ice Festival - 2 locations
2 Chinese New Year
3 Summer Music Festival
4 Russian St Sophia Cathedral (and synagogue and Jewish area)
5 Confucian Chinese Temple
6 Siberian Tiger Park
7 Organic Winery
8 War Museum (Chinese victims of Japanese)
9 Harbin sausage
10 Side trip to 11th century walled city
Another excellent photo by Lin Yang. St Sophia Cathedral. From wikimedia. The picture of the Baroque Eastern cathedral with its green domes, gold spires, and ornate windows has been
photobombed by the birds. I believe they are pigeons.
Siberian Tigers Watching and Waiting in the Siberian Tiger Park. Photo by Carla.Antonini in Wikimedia.
AccommodationMajor hotels such as Shangri La. Budget places include a hostel in a former synagogue. That's a novelty. See Tripadvisor for photos of the hostel and reviews.
Useful Websites
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Harbin
https://www.bh.org.il/jews-harbin/
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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