Joyous Harbin I: White Snow World of China: Harbin

Harbin, the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, is known for its bitterly cold winters and is often called the "Ice City" and is notable for its beautiful ice sculptures in winter and its Russian legacy. In 2010 it was declared a UNESCO "City of Music". Hey, it's winter now, I am sure it should be very happy in Harbin now. Are you exciting? We will show you the overview of Harbin in the chapter.

Chapter One

                   White Snow World of China: Harbin

As the political, economic, scientific, technological and cultural center - and not to mention, the transportation hub - of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin is located on the eastern Song-Nen Plain and on the right bank of Songhua River. Harbin is a famous international metropolis blending Western culture and Eastern culture perfectly. It is also called "Paris in the Orient", and "Moscow in the Orient". 

It is one of the sources of ice and snow culture in the world. Geographically, it is located in Northeast China under the direct influence of the cold winter wind from Siberia. The average temperature in summer is 21.2 degrees Celsius, -16.8 degrees Celsius in winter. It can be as cold as - 38.1 degrees Celsius in winter. 

Fun in Harbin

Special historical processes and a favorable geographical position created Harbin a beautiful city, touched with a hint of exoticism: it brings together the histories and cultures of northern minorities and assimilates Russian and Eastern European flavors as well. 

Harbin TV Tower

Harbin has lovely scenery and distinct seasons. Sun Island, the Siberian Tiger Park, Stalin Park, Erlong Mountain Scenic Spot, Yuquan Hunting Centre, Zhongyang Street, St. Sophia Cathedral, the Confucian Temple, and the Jile Buddhist Temple are famous tourist resorts. 

Besides, the city has the world-renowned "Harbin Summer Concert" and the Harbin Trade Fair held annually. Endowed with a frigid climate, Harbin also boasts many attractions for winter tour, such as the high mountain skiing resorts in Yabuli and Erlongshan, Ice Lantern Fair at the Zhaolin Park, the winter swimming on the Songhua River as well as the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculptures Competition held every year.

Festivals in Harbin

Harbin Ice Lantern Festival

Harbin Ice Lantern Festival: The Harbin Ice Lantern Festival is Harbin's main claim to fame these days. Every January, Zhaolin Park and the banks of the Songhua River, as well as Sun Island Park, become home to extraordinarily detailed, imaginative and downright wacky snow and ice sculptures. Tourists can enjoy many kinds of fantastic and exciting activities like skiing and winter swimming during the festival.

They range from huge recreations of iconic buildings, such as the Forbidden City, to animals and interpretations of ancient legends. At night they're lit up with colored lights to create a magical effect.

It might be mind-numbingly cold and the sun disappears mid-afternoon, but the festival, which also features figure-skating shows and a variety of winter sports, is Harbin's main tourist attraction - and prices jump accordingly. Officially, the festival gets going on 5 January and runs for a month, but it sometimes starts earlier and often lasts longer, weather permitting.

Harbin Summer Music Concert

Harbin Summer Music Concert: it is a national concert festival, which is held on August 6 every two years for a period of 10~11 days. During the concert, multiple evenings, concert, race and activities are held. The artists come from all over the world. The 'Harbin Summer Music Month', which was then renamed as 'Harbin Summer Music Concert', was held in August 1958. The first formal Concert was held on August 5, 1961 in Harbin Youth Palace, and kept on every year until 1966 when the Cultural Revolution started in China. In 1979, the Concert was recovered and from 1994, it has been held every two years. In 2008, the 29th Harbin Summer Music Concert was held on August 6.

Tasty Feast in Harbin

Harbin has a diverse and rich dining culture, with years of culinary development from the Jin and Yuan dynasties, local delicacies from the mountains and the products of multiculturalism in modern times. 

Xiaoji Dun Mogu

Influenced mainly by local people, minority cultures, and Russian style, Harbin food features the following two characteristics: firstly, traditional Harbin food uses the cooking methods of steaming, braising, grilling, roasting and stir-frying. The taste is slightly salty compared to Cantonese Cuisine. 

Dishes are based on local delicacies from the mountains. Recommended dishes include Pa Qietiao (grilled eggplant with honey miso sauce and sesame seeds), Xiaoji Dun Mogu (stewed chick with mushroom), Zhurou Dun Fentiao (braised pork with Vermicelli) and Jiang Gujia (braised spare ribs in brown sauce). Dumplings from Northeastern China can not be missed. 

Secondly, Harbin’s dining culture became more multicultural with influences from Russia, Italy, France and Denmark. Russian bread, sausage, cheese, and cornichon are all popular western style foods in the city. Authentic Russian style restaurants can be found on Central Street and nearby.

Nightlife of Harbin

Nightlife in Harbin frankly is a little disorganized: but it is more permissive, more relaxed and more colorful than daily life. Harbin’s young generation, like young people in any other city, spend their evenings searching for release. They are the producers and actors of excitement. The most popular night venues for young people include bars, KTVs, and cinemas. Harbin people are generally good at Russian songs and most of them can seriously and emotively sing one or two of these. 

Er Ren Zhuan

But if you prefer quiet places, where you can talk and relax, perhaps a café is a better option. Older people might like to dance for exercise in the square or in the park. But if you are not interested in any of these activities, just go to the Liu Laogen Grand Stage and enjoy the drama of Er Ren Zhuan, a local kind of lively folk art. Central Street is considered the most popular street for bars in Harbin. Many unique bars and pub are scattered there.

Top 10 Things to do in Harbin

1. St. Sofia Orthodox Church: the largest orthodox church in Far East Region.

2. Central Street: it is a rare architectural art corridor in China. It is also one of the longest pedestrian streets in Asia.

St. Sofia Orthodox Church

3. Ice & Snow World: A large-scale ice and snow theme park with ice and snow artistic landscapes, entertainment activities, ice lanterns and night views, etc. It is one of the world's largest ice architecture parks.

4. Sun Island: Lying on north bank of Harbin Songhua River, the Sun Island is elegant and well-known with a melodious song of on the Sun Island.

5. Yabuli Ski Resort: The largest world class tourist ski resort in China which gives you an unforgettable winter holiday.

6. Jile Buddhist Temple: the biggest Buddhist temple in the northeast area of China. It is the place for Buddhists worship.

7. Summer Music Concert: it is a national concert festival, which is held on Aug. 6th every two years for a period of 10 to 11 days.

Velvet Antler

8. Harbin Beer: Harbin Beer should be the earliest beer brand in China and it is still popular all over the country.

9. Ginseng and Velvet Antler: Harbin is near Great Khingan and Mt. Changbaishan. Quality ginseng and velvet antler are notable local products.

10. Ice Lantern: Zhaoling Park is an ideal place to appreciate the colorful and crystal ice lanterns. It’s one of the most popular parts of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival is the ice lanterns and sculptures found in Zhaolin Park.

Dreamed of a pure white snow world? Raising interests from my description of this great winter glamour city? Why not come to Harbin in winter to experience it all? Playing in the world of snow will be great and romantic that let you forget about cold weather. In a world, Harbin will be your best choice to enjoying a winter trip in China.